The Sun. — London, England, 1864-11-14 00:00:00

_cm SUl', LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 14, 1864, The LORD RECTOR (Lord Rassell) spoke as fol lows :—Gentlemen, my first duty is one of gratitude to you for the honour which you have done me in electing me Rector. (Applause.) I feel indebted to you for this honour on account of the fame and re putation of this University—(applause)—on account of its ancient distinction—a distinction which has been enhanced of late years by mathematical hon ours gained in an English University—(applause) —causing the names of your sons to be recorded in its honoured annals. Gentlemen, in addressing you to-day, it has occurred to me, thinking of this matter, that I should ill detain you by attempting to enlarge upon the beauties of literature or acqui sitions of science, which are brought before you in a way far more exact, far more ample, far more in telligently than I could do by such learned profes sors as those who are enaged in the teaching of this University. But, gentlemen, it has seemed to me that there are questions not so far out of the usual scope of my labours, in which I am not so in competent to advise—(applause)—upon which, at all events, I can examine with you—problems of the utmost interest to the human race, and by examining which we may attain, in future days, and for future speculations, truths which are of the utmost value to the welfare of the human race. (Applause.) Those upon which I propose to speak to you are the two questions—first, is there any law or general rule by which the decline of States is governed ; and se condly, what is the general aspect of the world at present, and doth it teach us to hope or despond ? (Applause.) Now, gentlemen, I think it has too often been assumed without much inquiry, that there was a sort of destiny—a kind of fate which ruled the fall of States—which caused some to rise and others to fall, and without any valid reasons such as in the moral as well as in the physical world usually des termine events. But I think, howsoever little we es amine, we shall find there are causes sufficient —causes which are known to us and which operate in our case, and which equally determine the final condition and fall of States. I will not stop to cons sider those questions which relate to nations so small in size, so insignificant in arms that, although they have by the exertion of great talent and virtue sud denly risen to great prosperity—and, indeed, may have kept that prosperity for a long time—yet have in the end been overpowered by States more consi derable, more potent in arms than themselves. This is in some degree applicable to Holland, which was a great and flourishing State, but could hardly maintain against the force of the Republic of France its former condition. Such was the case with the State of Venice, which lasted for a number of cen turies, and was governed with great wisdom, but was not able to contend when Austria and France appeared determined to crush the republic. But I am about to speak to you of , the great States of the world, and first, of that great State of Rome which rose by so much wisdom, by so much valour in arms, by such exceeding sagacity in its choice of the means of government, such power in carrjing its conquest of other countries to the very height of power, which you ail know and on which I need not dwell. How came it, then, that that great power, so extensive hitherto and eo wise, declined, and at length fell to the ground ? I think you will find the defects re garding the state of government, defects regarding the state of morals, defects relating partly to liters tur and arts, but, more than that, to the state of religion, caused the fall of that great empire. (Applause.) To speak in the first place of the Go vernment of Rome, there was a time, in the course of the second Punic war, when it might have been possible to have had a representative Government for the whole of Italy, and that representative Go vernment might have been a Government capable of conducting for centuries in Italy itself a free and happy Government. But that was not the case. That mode did not approve itself to the Romans. It was not chosen, and the State of Rome became in point of government the sink of the greatest vice —of the most notorious corruption, with regard to all its offices, which were openly sold to the highest bidders—with regard to its judicial functions, and with regard to every part of the State. There is a story which I will not repeat to you literally or cor rectly, but, as it so happens, it has a pleasantry equally good in English and in Latin, I may refer to it. After Cicero had pleaded most eloquently in behalf of n client, the opposite party, who had suc ceeded, told him the next day " Well, it appears after all that the majority did not pay any attend tion to your fine words, Cicero," and he said, "Yes, not the majority, but the minority at all events paid credit to my words, but the majority paid no credit to you, for they made you pay ready money." (Laughter and applause.) That which wes in fact, on the part of Cicero, a source of ridicule, pervaded Rome so generally, that it was impossible a Go vernment so corrupt should continue in a course of success. With regard to morals they were almost in a still worse condition... There was no rank of life that was respected. The sons, when the days of the proscriptions came, betrayed their fathers for the sake of the plunder of their riches. In every rela. tion of life there was the greatest perfidy, the most shameless vices. Now, with regard to literature I might be told, as it has been often said, that the age of Augustus was the most flourishing age of Roman literature, but, if you come to examine this and some other instances, you will find it was the previous struggle, it was the previous liberty which for a time, in the midst of security, enabled those great writers to flourish, who made Roman literati ture famous through all time. (Applause.) It is somewhat as if any one could suppose that the ripe juice of the grape is entirely owing to the fall of autumn, without recollecting that the spring and summer have prepared these juices, have strength ened those fruits which we find so rich and strong at the close of the summer. (Applause.) And that autumn, during which those fruits are produced — in which we find the grape so luxuriant and the olive so abundant — leav e preceded the winter dur ing which all these fruits wither and disappear. (Applause.) That I believe to have been the casein Rome. That from the time that the Government was destroyed sod despotism established, there was a commencement of decline, and those great talents which had astonished the world became fewer and fewer, and in time ceased to appear. In commence ment of the annals of Tacitus there is an allusion to the historians, most of them now lost, who were known during the time of the Republic, and he thus puts the phrase. In the sense, though not in the same words, he says •.—" Many of us have re lated the events of 820 years, from the building of the city of Rome and while the Roman Republic endured. These events were related with equal talent and freedom after the battle of Actium. When it became necessary, for the sake of peace, that power should be placed in one person these great talents disappe ared." Her e , then, we ha ve two or three of the causes of the decline of Rome— that the Government had become utterly c orrupt, that the morals were entirely v 1310118) that litera. lure, which had fl)nrished for a time, could no longer show the same vigour, or flourish with the same power, when despotism had completely over. whelmed it. (Applause.) But the Romans had, according to Polybius, a great attachment to their religion, and, considering that this was so far under the power and superintendence of the gods, they did not venture to break their faith, or to swerve from the rule of right, while they had entire belief in that religion. It was a part of that ignorance which God winked at, and when there were certain signs in the moral world, as well as certain pheno mena in the physical world, which clear y :howed the being of a God. (Applause.) Indeed, Salhut, a rhetorical historian certainly, but one who would not depart far from what he believed to be the case, represented that in the Senate of Rome, when it came to be a question of the punishment of Cetiline, Caesar and the greater part of the senators proposed that he should be put to death, &iffiest describes Caesar as talking very smoothly of the punishment of death, and saying that, in feat, instead of giving them a continuance of care, you give them repose and rest, which is one of the greatest boons that they can have. In answer to the opinion he repree sents Cato as saying : " Berle et composite Callas Caesar paulo ante in hoc ordine de vit 5. et morte dissernit, credo false existimans ea quse de inferis narrantur divers() itinere males a bonis loca tetra, inculta, feeds, atque formidolosahabere."—Salustii Catilina. That shows that in that time, when the Government had become corrupt, and when all bonds and ties of so ciety were beecming loosed, in that same time, the fears that men had on account of their religious be• lief, these fears were likewise vanishing, and disap pearing. (Applause.) In the same spirit we find Virgil envying the cold impiety of Lucretius ; "Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causes, Atque metus omnes et inexorabile fatum Subjecit pedibus, strepitumque Acherontis avari." In the same spirit we find Lucan describes Cato as speaking when he was brought to the Temple of Jupiter, and advised to consult the oracle; he said there is no need of a Deity speaking in the temple; and he says you may come to others, but do not come to me asking me to consult the oracle— " Sortilegis egeant dubii semperque futuris Casibus ancipites, me non oracula certum Sed more certa facit, pavido fortique cadendum est Hoc satis est disisse Jovem."—Luccos. What, then, in that state of Rome, with everything which could sway men and prevent them giving entire reins to their passions, with every power which could restrain their evil courses taken away —what remained bat that a Dictator, by means of arms, by means of the abilities with which he di rected those arms, should supplant the whole powers of the Government, and erect that tyranny on the basis of the free state of Rome—that state of Rome which had flourished, and which had risen, which had flourished, which had subsisted entirely on ac count of its freedom, and which, having lost that freedom, though it might endure, as it did endure for centuries in is decayed state, had no longer that life or spirit which would lead it to fresh victories and glory ? It was supposed by some men that the whole evil of this state of things consisted in the usurpation of Ceesar,whereasCce 3ar was but the arm, the instrument to carry into effect the punishment— punishment justly due to those who had forgotten all their virtues, and sunk into the abyss. In this state of the world Brutus and Cassius, with some 30 other persons, guided by Roman traditions, thought to deliver the Republic, to vindicate liberty, and to ease the world by the murder of Caesar. They accomplished so much of their design as mice ceesfully to kill Caesar ; but they neither served the Republic nor liberty, nor the world. For the evil was not in the person of Cwsar, but in the mastery of a licentious soldiery and a corrupt people, so that more cruelty, more ferocity, servitude more aban doned, and despotism more fixed, were the natural and certain consequences of the murder of Cwsar— a murder which was not less perfidious, nor less bloody, than any other murder. I have said this because the assassination of Cm 3ar was perpetrated by the dagger of Brutus the patriot, and has been approved by the pen of the poet; but it is not in this way that freedom can be restored. When the spirit of liberty has been overpowered by a lawless soldiery, and sunk in the vices of a corrupt people, it cannot be restored by the dagger. Octavius and Antony, by their prescriptions, Effaced the clemency of Cm:ar, but maintaiued the tyrannical power he had usurped. What was required was not the death of a man, but the regeneration of a people. This Brutus and Cassius could not effect, but they gave the authority with which the murderers of William I the Silent a n d Henry IV. of France afterwards took advantage. The authority, be it observed, was assumed by Brutus, and who shall refuse it to Revaillac ? By the sentence of an unknown and secret tribunal, deciding without open trial, and executing their sentence by treachery, fell Julius Cewar ; by such a tribunal and by such an execu tion also fell William of Orange and Henry IV. of France. (Applause.) So that nothing can be more unsafe for mankind than to leave it to any fanatical assassin to commit a murder upon him whom he thinks a tyrant, because that tyrant may be as William of Orange seeking to deliver a people from the chains of tyranny, or like Henry IV. of France opening the ways of peace and prosperity to a great people. (Applause.) And now having thus spoken to you—l hope not too much at length—on the causes of the fall of Rome, I pro ceed at once to another and far distant period of history. But before Ido this let me say that it has been observed—and I am inclined to think observed with truth—that the long decline, the painful decay of the empire of Rome gave occasion, gave the op portunity for Christiaa converts to spread the Christian religion (applause) ; to spread that religion not only among the Roman subjcets, but among the barbarians who were to succeed in overpowering them, and thus laid the foundations at once of better states of society, and of a pure instead of a corrupt religion. (Great applause.) I will now, then, carte at once to a far different time, to a time at the be ginning of the 16th century, when the Reformation was about to break out, The Christian religion had then been established in Rome ; but it had been established in a corrupt shape, and those who were the men of letters of Italy, who were the chief ornaments of Italy, had studied more Platonic philo sophy than the Christian religion—a time of what Machiavelli calls " a noble idleness," without regard to any religion or any Government. It was at this time that a German monk, really in earnest, sought to find out what was really the meaning of the re ligion that had been delivered by God to mankind ; and in so doing he rescued the nations of Europe from the contaminating and low observances which, under the name of the Christian religion, some had indulged in. (Applause.) But, be it observed, I am speaking now not of the Roman Catholic religion as it was maintained; I am speaking of the state of things in the dark ages, and I hold that the revival of letters in the 16th century was a revival of letters not only for Protestants but for Catholics. Men then began to study the meaning of their religion, and if they did not arrive at the same conclusions, if they arrived indeed at very differeht conclusions, they had at least in their hearts and minds a true wish to follow the doctrines of Christ. (Applause.) But the result of the revolution in religion was, es you all know, not only great dissensions, but civil wars of the utmost atrocity spreading through Europe. It is not for us to say what are the intentions of the Almighty Being in permitting those civil wars to exist, bat this we know that in His eyes a thousand years are but as a day, and we may think that it was for the purpose of purifying religion, that it was for the purpose of the discussion—or the criticism—of the reading of the Scriptures that these civil wars were permitted, and that at length light was to come out of the darkness of the time. (Applause.) I may now s:eak to you of the Government of that time. And here again you will sec that the Reformation of religion was the source not only of right, but of vigour and of a flourishing state of opinion in many countries of Europe where there were some things done with regard to government which had a tendency in the opposite direction. Philip de Comines, a most ex cellent and valuable historian, tells us that Charles VIII. of France loaded his soul very heavily, be cause he put an end to the Stares-General of France and destroyed liberty in that country, The effects were not immediate. France grew and flourished to a great amongheigh the t o f oh : cf E p a u great ro e_h heightut a t of power length the time came that the destruction of liberty which Charles VIII. had caused fell upon his suc cessors. A terrible vengeance u horrible scenes of the French eßnesvoeltti o a n n the _d t h a t great volcano which tore up and desolated the ground of France, which caused so much blood shed, which caused so many wars, were in fact the effect of those causes, that instead of continuing the ancient free go vernment of France, established a despotio government and opinion and liberty of every kind rose against that despot tism, and on its attempts to improve and reform the Go vernment of France such horrible crimes were committed. (Cheers.) At the same time—not a very distant time from Charles TIM of France—another Sovereign, Charles V., had likewise destroyed all the traces of free government which he could find. In Italy he destroyed that wonderful and admirable Republic of Florence, which had produced so many men of genius, which had produced Dante and Pe trarch and Michael Angelo, men in science and art of the greatest genius. (Cheers.) That republic, that species of free government, was'destroyed ; and although they had, during that time, to boast of the genius and discoveries of Galileo, yet literature no longer flourished as it had, and that beau tiful and famous republic fell into a state of apathy and disgrace. (Hear.) There was another country in which Charles V. and his preceptors destroyed an ancient free constitution, a constitution greatly resembling our own—l mean the constitution of Spain. (Cheers.) You have all heard of the fierce spirit that reigned in Arragon when the representative of the Commons told the King, " We will obey you if you observe the laws ; and, if not, not." (Re newed cheers.) You have all heard of the way in which the towns of Castile received the orders of the King when they considered them illegal, when they said that they should be obeyed, but not fualed—when they said that when those orders were illegal, although they would pay them respect as the orders of the sovereign, but they never would put them into effect—they would never fulfil those orders which were against their rights and privileges. (Cheers.) This free constitution Charles Y. destroyed, and never again did that Assembly of the Cortes meet till near our own day, nor was any voice of freedom heard among that people. (Cheers.) And what was the consequence? The Spaniards had been rising, rising rapidly, to a great height of fame ; the re nown of their arms in the Old World, even when they were fighting in a bad cause, their courage and their discipline were the most remarkable in Europe ; and you have all heard of the conquests they have made in the New World ; but from the time the Spanish people were given up to poli tical despotism and religious inquisition, from that time the spirit of the people drooped—from that time Spain began to decline ; and you have all heard Spain spoken of as being at the beginning of this century a country that was is the utmost state of fall and degradation. (Cheers.) Then, with regard to the causes which influence the rise and fall of nations, it is no matter of indifference that a people should enjoy a free Constitution—that a people should have free liberty of expression—what in our modern days is called liberty of the press, but was then called liberty of thought and of expression ; it is no matter of indifference that a people should enjoy religious liberty and freedom to search the truth, for it is by these things that a State be comes great and flourishing--it is by these things that it can keep that greatness. (Cheers.) It is not to be doubted that it may be proved, if you look through centuries, that a Sovereign, by getting hold of the supreme power of the State, by quenching all liberty, by forbidding all expression of opinion, may for a time conduct a flourishing State ; but we have seen the catastrophes which follow the assumption of such power. We have seen the catastrophe of France in her great and memorable and dreadful Revolution—we have seen the catastrophe of Spain in that state of utter apathy, that utter nullity into which she fell owing to the depriva tion of her liberty and of all freedom of thought and ex pression. (Cheers.) Now, having spoken of these histori cal examples, I will proceed to some more perilous ground, because hitherto, at all events, we had the footsteps of history be follow, and we knew of the events which had befallen, although we might not interpret them aright. But let us now consider what is the present state of Europe and of the world—(cheers)—and regard those great problems of Government, of the maintenance and fall of States, of literature, and even of religion. I will keep you but a short time on these matters, because, as I have said, it is a perilous ground to walk upon, and there are ashes but a short waybeneath the surface which I might find to be burn ing under my foot, (Laughter.) In the first place, however, I think we may say pretty surely that that calamity which overwhelmed the Roman Empire—an irruption of barbarous races putting an end to the smooth, polished, and civilised state of society, is not a catastrophe to be dreaded at the pre sent time. I think you will find if you look over the history of the world for two or three centuries back, and especially at the present timc,that barbarian races are constantly giving way before the civilised races, or becoming portions of the same people, though generally in an inferior capacity, as the Indians of Mexico now are, or else what is frequent, and, at the same time, is lamentable, these barbarian races sink and disappear and perish altogether before the inroad of civilised man. We may see something of events like these going on in several places; one a colony of our own, others in parts of foreign empires. But, at all events, you may see that where there is a struggle between the civilised and the savage man, the savage man always yields ; and therefore we may expect, unless something totally unusual, something totally out of the course of what we have seen happen before, tha civilised man will bear the sway over the globe. (Applause,) So far, at least, ee e may di pose of the question of another irruption of barbarians. But there is another thing, I think which all recent events for a century have shown—viz., that civilised men of the European races—of the races of Europe or of those who have been transferred to America—are superior even to highly civilised men of the Asiatic race— (applause)—l think we cannot doubt that, whether we speak of India or of China, that superiority of the Euro pean race is uncontested and uncontestable. (Applause.) Let us proceed to inquire whether, with regard to Europe, any improvements have been made in the Government. I need not speak of our own country, because our own country has now for many years enjoyed in its perfection, or nearly in its perfection, that which I believe to be the best of the imperfect forms of Government which man can attain to. (Cheers.) I do not believe it is possible for men to invent a better form of Government than free re presentative Government. (Applause.) And I do not believe any nation in the world has so perfected that form of Government as we have ourselves. (Cheers.) But I beg you to observe that in no very lung time a represen tative Government, more or less imperfect, has sprung up in various parts of Europe. And when I say more or less imperfect, I think we are apt to be too critical in our observations on foreign countries; and although we have, as I have just stated, arrived at a perfect form of this Go vernment, yet recollect that from the accession of James I. to the accession of George I. there was a perpetual struggle going on between the powers of the sovereign authority on the one hand—l will not call it despotism, for that was not the attempt—and popular privilege on the other. (Cheers.) It was not till that century of struggle was over that we could have said that we were safe in the harbour of con stitutional representative monarchy. (Applause.) While making these observations therefore as to struggles that may be still going on in foreign countries, as they formerly went on in ours, I bsg you to °teem that in France, in Austria, in Spain, in Portugal, and in some other countries we have forms of representative monarchy. But what I confess I rejoice in especially is that Italy, which was so long dead, that Italy which for so many centuries lay in the torpor to which she had been condemned by those arms of Charles V. of which I have spoken—has roused herself, and has risen again ; and as she flourished once as the re public of a single city, spreading its arts and arms every where—as she flourished again as a number of disunited republics, each distinguished by its arts, by its vigour in carrying on war and contest against the others—so I hope now there may be a third shape of freedom and happiness to Italy, and that as a constitutional monarchy she will shine again among the powers and states of Europe. (Loud cheers.) Nor can I without emotion contemplate the efforts that are making by-the single state of Greece, when I see that state struggling to get through its factions and its diffi culties of every kind, when I recollect that from that coun try appeared poets, historians, mathematicians, and philo sophers, men of every kind of genius, who, in a very short period of the existence of the ancient states of Greece, and within that small compass of land, produced more genius, did more for the arts and civilisation of mankind, did more for the example of letters, did more to teach you in this University of Aberdeen the first beginnings and the know ledge of civilisation than the thousands of millions who in China and in India, and in the vast regions of the East and West, have followed their generations through the world. (Applause.) There is a quarter of the world to but a small part of which any light of civilisation has penetrated, and which is still in a state not only of barbarism, but where the most horrible atrocities are practised. lam now allud ing to the continent of Africa—l am alluding to the state of a great portion of the globe, which, however, has not been stagnant, because that portion of the globe has in many of its coasts got rid of that detestable crime, the slave trade, and where the knowle Ige of Christianity, the know ledge of cultivation, the knowledge of agriculture are be ginning to make some way. With regard to this continent Dr Livingstone—(loud applause)—told an anecdote not long ago, that when he was making his praiseworthy explora tions the art and policy of substituting cultivation and Christianity for the evils of the slave trade were known by the name of the Palmerston policy. (Applause.) But many persons have said that the case his hopeless ; they have said that the people of Africa are utterly barbarous, It is some thing that there are those who have another belief, and who believe that the people may yet be civilised, that all our pains will not be thrown away, that all those lives which we have unfortunately lost in the task of civilising Africa will not be a useless sacrifice, but that light is still to shine in that quarter of the world. (Applause.) Of that faith was a man who was never named in society but with honour— Capt. Speke, the traveller of Africa. (Applause.) I asked him if he thought Africa at some future time was to play a great part among the civilised nations of the world, and ho told me that he firmly believed that that would be the case. No doubt it will appear desperate, but I remember hearing that a person who always mingled something striking with the lessons of his es isclom—l mean Sydney Smith—happened to be inthe Political Economy Club when a gentleman, a dis tinguished men of science, member of that club, said in the course of a speech that he believed the Africans would never be capable of being civilised. " Well," Sydney Smith said afterwards, " well, you made an excellent speech, but it was just such a speech as a senator of Rome would have made in the Senate of Rome to prove that it was quite hopeless to civilise the Britons." (Loud applause.) Such, then, are my views. Progress is very slow ; but on questions such as I am treating to-day we must perpetually recollect that which I have mentioned before, that in the eyes of the Almighty a thousand years are but as one day, and if in a thousand years a great change has been made on Africa, no doubt the gain to the civilisation of the human race must be great. (Applause.) There is another portion of the globe where we still have to lament the scenes of bloodshed which are to be witnessed—where we still have to lament that the bloody arbitrament of war has not been brought to a close ; and, if there is any bright spot in that dark scene, it is for the African race. (Applause.) Bat I cannot but believe that the civil war in America, whichever way it may end, whether the States may again unite, or whether there is to be a final separation — l cannot but believe that out of these events the African race aro to receive their freedom. I am sure I need not speak to you of abhorrence of slavery, because we must all have that abhorrence as strong as we have had, but there is one thing which makes it quite im possible that the master and the slave should over live in harmony together. With regard to other kinds of property —to which the slave masters assimilate them—with regard to horses, dogs, and other animals, it is the interest of the master to keep them well ted, happy, and contented. He is quite sure that these animals have no plot and conspiracy against:hina. But with regard to slaves—to the human being —every slave master knows that the Almighty has planted a spark of freedom in the breast of every man, and he always suspects and always fears that the day may come when the slaves may conspire together against his interest and against his master. (Applause.) For this reason, then, among many others, we may all wish, among future benefits that are to be conferred upon mankind, that that kind of African slavery at all events will reach its termination. But now with regard to what I have said as to the progress of reli gion. I may cite to you the opinion of a man of great mo deration and of great learning—l mean Dr. Milman, Dean of St Paul's. I have a long quotation, but as it enters upon controversial matters I shall only give a few words : " Christianity may yet have to exercise a far holier, even if more silent and untraceable influence, through its primary, all-penetrating, all-pervading influences on the civilization of mankin'." That I believe to be true—that whatever we may do as to government, as to manners, as to religion, it will be accompanied and guided by a greater influence, by a wider influence than has ever been known—that of Chris tianity on the civilization of the world. But we must be. ware, lest in the discussions that are going on, although we may rejoice in seeing the utmost earnestness, we must take care that we do not part with any portion of our charter. We have seen of late years men embrace the most different forms of Christianity, but all with the greatest earnestness and with the greatest sincerity. It seems to me that it would be strange, indeed, that we should impute to such mene—men who have laboured honestly and earnestly to arrive at the truth—that we should impute to them as a crime that they have erred. It is said that men have done wrong, because they have wished to give any indulgence to their passions, and because they have wished to indu'ge their vanity in some new form. That may be the case, but we should be very slow to indulge these suspicions ; we ought in charity rather to suppose that men intent upon so great a problem—iutent upon inquiries so interesting to their own lives, and to their own happiness, will endeavour, at all events, to be right. It seems to me there is some likeness in the case to an event that might happen on your sea shore on the signs of the beginning of a storm that may scatter vessels far and wide, and when some vessels seek to get into a narrow harbour where, in the port itself they would not be safe, and where others might be carried far out to sea and lost amid the sands and shoals of some far distant shore. We might rejoice in our safety if we were not lost like these men—but, at all events, although we might congratulate ourselves on that safety, we should never hold language so barbarous as to impute to any fault of theirs the efforts of the men who have still sought safety, although they may have taken an erroneous way of reaching it. (Applause.) It appears to me, therefore, that as you in the world—as we all in the world—shall have to encounter many opinions, as there is likely to be even still more a struggle of various opinions than there has been, that we should still be mind ful of the great precept of the apostle, "Faith, hope, and charity; but the greatest of these is charity." (Applause.) You wilt forgive me, I hope, for saying these words on be half of fallible men, to whom their brethren ought to show every forbearance and kindness. I trust that the world will make its progress in freedom, in fair discussion of opinion, and in true religion, but I am sure that on all these subjects we ought to forbear with one another, (Applause.) I thank you for listening to these opinions, which have not been all well matured, but, at all events, I have given them to you such as they are, and I heartily thank you fur your attention. (Applause.) Mr HARPER, divinity student, then rose and read and presented to Earl Russell the following address : " TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE EARL RUSSELL, LORD RECTOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN. "My Lord Rector—ln name of the students of Aberdeen University we beg to express our grateful sense of privilege which enables us to-day to welcome your lordship as the re presentative of eur rights and interests at this :ancient seat of learning. So far as that office is an honour we have offered it to your lordship in recognition of your lordship's career of pre-eminent public usefulness, and in admiration of the lofty - patriotism and disinterested zeal with which, for upwards of half a century, you have faithfully and honourably served your Sovereign and your country. We have the honour, to be, &)." The LORD RECTOR, in reply, said—Gentlemen, 1 will only say that I am deeply grateful to you for this address. I daresay I have made a great many errors and mistakes ; but at all events you have the kindness to think that I have intended to benefit my country, and I have done my best for that obj ;et, (Applause.) On the motion of Lx-Provost WEBSTER, three cheers were then given fir the Lord Rector, and three cheers for Lady Georgiana Russell, which terminated the proceedings. THE - MURDEROUS ASSAULT AT CAMBERWELL,- On the 10th ult. a paragraph appeared in this jour nal setting forth that a gentleman named Sheffell was brutally assaulted and robbed in the vicinity of Camber well. The same day Inspector Dann informed the magi strate at Lambeth that the paragraph in question was false ; but our reporter has since made strict inquiries from Mr Sheffell (who has only just recovered from the attack), and other persons, and he finds that his report was sub• stantially correct, and that Mr Dann's statement was erro. neous. The only inaccuracy was with respect to tho amount of which Mx Sheffell was robbed. The sum was £2 Ils in stead of 10 as reported. JOURNAL S. SPIRIT OF e respectable position," MATRIMONIA L HOAX AT BIRKENHEAD —About a week or ten days ag o the re appeared a n advertise ment a dventurer, who described himself as a " gen from t l e naa n some, aged 21y a ryears, in a very and who wished to "communicate with an amiable young lady from IS to 22, with a view to matrimony." This advertisement attracted the notice of several young men at Birkenhead, and, bent upon having some fun at the expense of the unknown wife-hunter, they addressed a letter to " B 92, ~11ercury office," under the signature of "E. Stewart," who describes himself as an " amiable young lady," with good pecuniary prospects. The bait took, and, after ono or two loving epistles had passed between the "couple," the young lady proposed a meet ing with her unknown admirer, who gave the name of " P. Oieck," and stated that he was a native of Germany, and resided in Eodney-street, Liverpool. A meeting was accordingly arranged to take place at the Grange Hotel Grange Lane, where , the y oun g lady alleged , she was stay ing with a relative. The night arrived, and the foreigner made his appearance at the Grange Hotel, but as "Miss Stewart" was not punctual to her appointment he imme diately left, doubtless suspecting that he was about to be caught in a trap. The "young lady," however, wrote on the following day a letter, apologising for not fulfilling her engagement on the previous night, alleging that a rich uncle had just arrived in this country efter a long absence abroad, and that she could not leave him. She concluded by proposing another meeting for Monday night at the Dock Hotel, which she said was kept by a particular friend of hers. This brought a reply from the adventurer, who ex pressed his willingness to meet Miss Stewart" at the place named, and, said he, "If it shall happen that I am ten or fifteen minutes too late, excuse me, as I am a stranger in town." He also requested the young lady to " begin" towards him, "as it will be hard for me to introduce myself to your friends, as I am a little shy from the wel come I had at the Grange Hotel." The time fixed was 7 o'clock, and at that hour a party of young fellows were as sembled at the Dock Hotel. Punctual to the minute, "P. Oleck," the foreigner, entered the hotel, and took a seat in the parlour. After a short time, a servant entered the apartment and asked him whether he was the gentleman who wished to see "Miss Stewart." He replied that he was, and he was then asked upstairs to the drawing-room, the servant stating that the young lady would be with him immediately. Anxiously the foreigner waited, but instead of meeting an amiable young lady, about 30 young fellows, ' headed by "Miss Stewart" in male attire, rushed into the room and began to torment the wife-hunter. The poor fellow was thunderstruck ; in broken English ho begged d to be allowed to leave the house, bu t the "y g lady" an her companions were inexorable. A jury was empannelled, a judge appointed, and learned counsel were named to pre fer the charge against the defendant of attempting to obtain a wife by false representations. After hearing evi lence and sundry speeches, the jury found the wife-hunter guilty, and as a penalty for his offence he was ordered to stand glasses round, or in default to be blacked and floured. The unhappy adventurer had only just enough in his pockets to pay his fare back to Liverpool, and consequently had to submit to the second part of the sentence. His tormentors bedaubed his clothes with soot and grease, and afterwards sprinkled him with flour. In this condition they escorted him to Woodside Ferry, amidst the laughter of the con spirators and a number of other persons who were in the secret. The foreigner, after being badgered and teased for upwards of two hours, was permitted to cross to Liverpool. Liverpool Mercury. [ADVERTISEMENT.] —Holloway's Pills.—Bilious com• plaints and irregularities of the system produced by de praved or over-abundant bile can always ba corrected by a few doses of these inestimable pills, which are everywhere admired for their rare combin ation of mildness and power ; for though they conquer with ease and rapidity the most obstinate disease,they never weaken the stomach nor neces sitate any interruption of ord inar y duties or amusements; o n the contrary, they increase the appetite, strengthen the organs of digestion, give increased eaorgy and life to all the animal functions, and fit both hand and brain for fresh exertions. The sick and enfeebled can easily discover what a happy revolution these pills have the power to effect in the human system. THE " SPECTATOR" ON THE CALCUTTA CT CLONE. —The English language does not contain a native word to express the more violent forms of wind. We have borrowed a great many since we became the great merchants of the East, but hurricane and tornado are Spanish, typhoon, we believe, Chinese, though dictionaries derive it from the Greek, simoom Arabic, and cyclone pure Greek, with a conventional meaning imposed upon it by science. Gale means anything, according to the speaker's idea of the proper power of wind, blast and squall imply limited duration, and whirlwind is restricted to the lesser forms of circular hurricane, the waterspouts of air. Storm is the only native word of any force, and an Englishman's idea of a storm does not tempt him to sympathise greatly with the sufferers from its vio lence. Accustomed only to the winds of the north, which bring catarrh and consumption, but leave wooden houses standing for years, which seldom last many hours, and are never destructive except at sea, his poweeof imag;ning wind is limited, and he reads a story like that of the catastrophe at Calcutta with a feeling of pity in which there is just a trace of something like contempt. People out there must be very weak or arrangements very bad for a mere wind to work all that destruction, throw Lloyds' into a panic, and impede the systole disastole of her Majesty's foreign mails. We question whether even after reading Lloyds' report, and the much more graphic narrative which appeared in the Telegraph, the average reader quite understands that an Indian cyclone is to Indians a catastrophe like an earth quake, an irresistible outburst of the destructive forces of nature before which man and man's works are as powerless as before the breath of the Almighty, which can be encountered only by submission, or that resignation which while it lasts is so undistin guishable from paralysis. It has been the lot of the writer to live through two cyclones, only less violent than that of October 5, and one considerable earth quake, and on the whole he considers the earthquake the friendlier manifestation of the two. It brings your house about your ears, and suggests that the protection of Heaven is suspended, but it gets itself done with, and the cyclone does not. That, we take it, is the secret of the horror with which all men who have lived in Asia regard a genuine cyclone. The popular theory that such a storm occurs about once in ten years is, we believe, a mistake founded on imperfect knowledge. It occurs every year just after the tropical rains, but fortunately for civiliza tion its force is not spent twice on the same spot, except after intervals of years, sometimes of quar ter-centuries. The park planted by Marquis 'Wel lesley, for example, sixteen miles from Calcutta„ though now destroyed, has survived the cyclones of seventy years, apparently though not really un harmed. It is only when the destruction affects Europeans that in Asia details are known, and a storm which destroys everything between the Mauritius and Africa, or submerges a vast rice dis trict, may remain in Europe unreported. Once, however, in every ten years some city like Calcutta, which, though tropical in every attribute and cir cumstance is still not in the tropics, is included within the sweep of the broad band of wind which rushes, twisting itself in a spiral with twists a thou. sand miles long, from the north-east to the south west, meeting fortunately nothing in its course from Bengal, till seven thousand miles away it brushes the white cloth off Table Mountain, Once in about a generation the same place finds itself near the centre of the current, and civilisation realises for an instant how utterly feeble it is when nature chooses that barbarism shall reign. In Bengal there is always a slight but significant warning of such an occurrence being at hand. Nature suddenly sinks to rest, the atmosphere glows with heat, every settlement seems surrounded with a wall of rose coloured haze, the birds stop chirping, and the hum of insects, which over all Asiatic deltas is as per. manent a souud as the low roar of London is in Cheapside, suddenly arrests itself, leaving on the ear a sort of pain of silence. A little white cloud comes up marching as if self driven in the very teeth of the breeze, a wall of dust is visible hundreds of feet high and as even to the eye as a canvass sail, and then the unlucky watchers know that probably for twelve hours life and property are in the hands of God alone. Man and animals simply crouch, con scious for once that even courage has become worth less. Even in the plains, in stations where there is no water, such a wind is bad enough. The trees, as it rises higher and higher, bend and twist and groan till the roots yield to the tremendous strain, and they are not broken but flung out of their sockets as it' the blast were wroth with their resistance, every roof with e pitch to it goes whirling through the air,the wooden shutters are blown in with reports like pistol shots, and exposed to all the fury of the tempest the Europeans wait, half maddened with the roar of the typhoon, to see if masonry can hold out. There aro few situations on earth, not even waiting for the certainty of murder which Govern• ment has forewarned yeti, equal to the strain such a wind produces on the mind. It is not the storm, the continuous volleys of bolts, rapid as the firing during an engagement which usually accompany a cyclone, and strike, or seem to strike, within a few feet of every house, it is the wind, the never ceasing rushing blast, strong as an avalanche, and, so to speak, studded every ton minutes with gusts which strike the walls like solid substances, which so wear out the nerves. Europeans feel as if they were battling with spirits, as if the slightest loss of their own hold over themselves, the slightest intermission in the strain of mental resistance, — mental, for there is little to do, would destroy them. TUE " READER" ON SENSATIONAL LITERATURE. —The question raised by the Archbishop of York in his recent Charge is one which must have free quently presented itself to the mind of anyone who has ever examined the popular literature of the present day. Is the tendency of the reading pro vided for the million good or bad ? This is the question which the Archbishop endeavoured to answer. Disagreeing, as we do, with the conclu sion arrived at by the archi-episcopal censor, we wish to explain some of the grounds on which we dissent from it. The subject is too wide a one to be exhausted in one or even in many articles 3 but still we can show some considerations which incline us to take a hopeful view of the influence of this class of literature. Let us admit that his Grace was far from exaggerating the power of this agency. Pro bably it is only those practically acquainted with literature as a trade who are at all aware of the magnitude of this popular literature. Every now and then we see paragraphs in the news papers announcing the unprecedented sale of some successful work like Macaulay's History or Tenny son's " Enoch Arden ;" but all these bookselling triumphs are trifling, as far as numbers go, com pared with those daily achieved by works whose very names are unknown to circulating libraries. Some years ago a very clever article was published in household TVords—written, we believe, by Mr Wilkie Collins—called the " Unknown Public." This public has authors, classics, publishers, alike unknown to ordinary readers. Very few, we sus• spect, of the subscribers to Mudie ever heard of " Woman and her Master ;" yet the author of this work probably addressed a larger public than any writer of our generation. There are at the present day penny serials, never seen in drawing-rooms or heard of in clubs, which count their subscribers by hundreds of thousands. Between the public who read three-volume novels and that which takes its mental food in penny numbers there is a great gulf. With the exception of Caaries Dickens, no modern writer has ever succeeded in attracting both sections of the reading world ; and even his success has been a partial one. In literature, as wall as other matters it is impossible to serve two masters ; and whenever a writer who, like Miss Braddon, has made his first success amongst the unknown pub lic, begins to rise into the notice of the upper ten thousand of readers, he is obliged to alter his style in a manner which alienates from him the affections of his first love. The experiment of creating a literature which shall attract the educated and un. educated alike has been frequently tried and has universally proved a failure. The Penny Maga zine, Good Words, and the British Workman may be mentioned, amongst other cheap periodicals, as having most nearly achieved the object in view; but even the most enthusiastic admirers of these publications must admit that they have failed in reaching the unknown public of " Woman and her Master.' It is, we think, hopeless to expect any sudden change in the popular taste. The million knows well enough what it wants, and cannot be cajoled into believing it is amused by works de signed to impart instruction. The wisest plan therefore is to look at facts as they are, and, ad mitting the existence of sensational literature as an unalterable fact, to see whether it is as great an evil as the Archbishop of York imagines it to be. THE " EXAMINER" ON AN INFANT'S NECES SARIES.—The Daily News has some excellent re marks upon a decision of an Oxford jury that silk racing-jackets, cape, and other costly and fantastic jockey gear are necessaries of an infant, that is to say, of a young man under age. We can imagine no station, except indeed of a professed jockey, in which the racing apparel can be a necessary, and in this instance the infant was not heir to a for tune, but a young man dependent upon a mother in easy but not affluent circumstances, and destined to earn his bread bynfarming, the business of which he was learning when he obtained credit for the articles in question. The mother resisted the de mand, paying into court the prices of clothes which might be considered necessaries, but disputing the claim for the racing apparel as extravagant super fluities—but she had, unfortunately, to do with the Oxford jury, and Oxford tradesmen have their reason for favouring and encouraging all the ex travagances of young men at the expense of their parents. E is a common saying for a bad character, EARL RUSSELL AT ABERDEEN, [A. summary of the following appeared in our impression of Saturday :-1 ABERDEEN, Nov. 11. Yesterday the Right Hon. Lord Russell arrived in Aberdeen for the purpose of being formally ins stalled as Lord Rector of Aberdeen University, to which cffice he was elected in December, 1863—the tenure of office being for three years. His lordship was accompanied by his daughter, Lady Georginia Russell. The formal installation took place in the Hall of Marischal College -buildings at 12 o'clock. At 1 o'clock the Lord Rector delivered his inaugural address in the Music-hall, in presence of an audience of 2,000 persons, including students, graduates of the University, and others, a fair portion of them being ladies. On entering the hall, accompanied by Principal Campbell and the members of the Senatus, his lordship was loudly cheered. After prayer by the Principal, _ _ " he would rob his own father," but few sorts of robbery are more common by the medium of a cre ditor backed by a jury with fellow feeling that makes them wondrous kind to claimants. The jury may be looked upon in the light of the accomplice after the fact. And for how much have they to answer. How many a case of ruin had its commencement in the habits of extravagance encouraged by credit recklessly given with a view to the parents' liabi lity. In the case before us the mother, who has to pay for her infant's silk racing-jackets, caps, and breeches, is described as in easy circumstances—but how uneasy may her circumstances become before her hopeful son comes of age, after this edifying lesson that there is nothing for which he can obtain credit for which his mother will not be held liable, as for necessaries. But as tradesmen thus prey upon parents, they aro preyed upon in turn by sharpers, the biters getting bitten, and small the pity. A rule for a new trial has been obtained for the Oxford case, and we hope the Bench will take the opportunity of drawing the broad distinction between necessaries and extravagant superfluities, and of reprehending the spirit of fellowship that must have prompted a preposterous verdict against common sense, and the jurors' oath. THE "LONDON REVIEW" ON THE THEFT Or THE FLORIDA.—" Honest" Abels Government has contrived so to distinguish itself that we have long ceased to be surprised at any rascality it commits. Therefore, if wo aro told that it carries fire and sword into unoffending homesteads, if its generals and captains plunder women and old men, and burn their roofs over their heads, if it lays waste fertile regions for no stragetic purpose, but solely to inflict suffer ing, if it commit atrocities which put to shame the compa ratively feeble crimes of the late King Bomba of Naples, we say only that it acts in harmony with its nature, and pursues to a logical conclusion the vulgar tyranny on which it is based, and from which it derives its inspiration. When it stole the Southern ,Commissioners from the deck of an unarmed British steamship, it made a manifestation of its lawlessness. When, in the fear of drawing upon itself the hostility of England, it gave them up, it made a manifes tion of its cowardice. When, while giving them up, it said that if its interests required it would have violated the law of nations and kept them, it confessed that it would bite if it dared. This was the first notable sample of the morality of " Honest" Abe's Government which imme diately concerned us. We have had since then other samples, and we know for a truth that the Wash ington Government is to be ranked amongst the "dangerous class of the civilised world, not to be judged by any code of law or honour. That it has stolen the Florida is, therefore, a fact which not all surprises us. Its captains have tciled after the Confederate vessel long and in vain. That it has stolen her while under the protection of a Power which could be easily defied, is the explanation of the theft. It would not have been committed if the Florida had lain under the protection of a British or a French in stead of a Brazilian battery. On a large scale, the transac tion is similar to one which we sometimes see amongst our dangerous classes at home. The gentleman in difficulties who posts himself upon a country road with a view to sti mulate the charity of the passers-by, whines before the able-bodied passenger, but growls and exhibits his bludgeon to the uprotected female. With similar courage did the captain of the Federal Wachusetts steal the Florida out of the harbour of Bahia. The Florida arrived at Bahia on Oct. 4. She put in for a supply of stores and coals, and to make some repairs in her machinery. Soon after she an chored in the outer harbour a boat came alongside of her and demanded the name of the vessel. The answer was honestly given—" The Confederate States' steamer Florida." That was true. A person in the boat replied, " This boat is from her Britannic Majesty's steamer Curlew." That was un true. Neither the Curlew nor any of the Queen's ships was at the port at the time. But Federal chicanery had gained a point. It had at last discovered the Florida. It gained another great point when the American consul, Mr Wilson, gave his word of honour to the governor of the province that the Wachusetts would not violate the laws of neutrality within the Brazilian waters. The Federal word of honour had, it appears in this instance, two advantages. It assured th:e governor, and was not binding on the Wachusetts. Upon this,and after pledging himself that he too would re spect the neutrality of the Brazilian waters, Capt, Morris obtained from the governor permission to move the Florida from the outer to the inner roads, so as to be out of danger, and to facilitate coaling operations. By way of emphasising this permission an admiral of the Brazilian navy, who was present at the interview between the Governor and Captain Morris when the latter made this request, said to him, " Oh yes; move her in, and come inside of me, and you will be out of all danger." So the Florida was removed to the berth appointed her, where there were two Brazilian ships of war between her and the Federal Wachusetts, close under the guns of a steamer of war and a Brazilian fort. It was then found that the repairs to her machinery could not be com pleted under four days. Capt. Morris hearing this sent part of his crew ashore. On the morning of the Pith the Federal consul, who had pledged his honour to respect the neutra lity of the Brazilian waters, sent Capt. Morris a messenger with an offer to urge the Brazilian Government to complete the repairs of the Florida, if Captain Mcrris would accept a challenge to come out and fight the Wachusetts. This chal lenge was declined, and in the afternoon the first batch of liberty men having returned to the Florida, the starboard watch was released, and Capt. Morris and some of his offi cers went ashore at the same time, not doubting the Federal word of honour. On the following morning, about 3 15 a.m., while it was dark, theWachusetts left her anchorage, steered for the Florida, and struck her on the starboard quarter, cut ting her rail down to the deck, carrying away her mizenmast, and at the same time pouring a volley of musketry and a charge of canister from forecastle pivot gun upon the Flo rida's decks. Then she backed off and demanded a sur. render, which was refused. More firing from the Wachu setts, returned by the officers and crew of the Florida ; but the struggle was unequal and vain, and the lieutenant in command surrendered conditionally, When he did so, many of his crew jumped overboard, and more than half were shot in the water by men in the forecastle of the Wa chusetts, and in her boats. Thus master of the position, the Wachusetts towed the Florida out of harbour—stole her as a garotter plunders the man whom he has knocked on the head or half-strangled, So much for Federal " honour." We are not in the least surprised. We have watched the brutal contest waged on the part of the North by mercenaries against men who aro fighting for the in alienable right of freemen, the choice of their own Govern ment, and have looked for some redeeming trait, for a token of that chivalry which soldiers and seamen even in an unjus cause will show if only for the honour of their cloth. But in the abyss of depravity into which the Northern States have sunk we have looked for such a token in vain. The spirit of the filibuster and the border ruffian has obiterated from the armies and navies of the North the commonest virtues of humanity. " Honest" Abe and his officers, on sea and on land, illustrate the " good old plan." They take what they can get, no matter how they get it, and they keep it as long as they can, or dare. If the Florida had lain within British waters, their neutrality would have been respected, not out of deference to law, but to fear, She lay in a Brazilian harbour, and the Federals stole her, because they had nothing to restrain them ; not the dread of the Brazilian Government, which is weak; nor law and honour, because they respect neither. THE "SATURDAY REVIEW" ON MR. CLAY AND THE CLASSICS. —The defiant recklessness with which a the• roughly vulgar person of a certain stamp will avow his vul garity and pride himself upon it, is often so amusing as to compensate for the infliction of his company. His rude imitation of geniality and good-fellowship, as he pretends to dispense with social ceremonies which he knows to be usual, but whose precise details he also knows himself to be quite incompetent to carry out, is so exceedingly funny that his guests may pardon him for the awkwardness and con fusion whieh probably ensues. He tells them, in loud tones, that they must not come to his house for kickshaws and fancy wines. Honest fish and joint, with sound port, are his fare, and if people are not content with that, why they can stay away. If Thackeray's Philip had had a spark of humour in him, the Sunday dinners at Mugford's must, have been a source of the keenest enjoyment to him. To be ill- tempered with such people, or to call ,them names, is simply ungrateful. Seen in a proper light, the vehemence, not unmingled with nervousness, with which they declaim against fine manners, their readiness to catch at any hint as to the ways of grand houses and the uncomfortable blus ter which destroys their meritorious efforts to lookjovial and hospitable, aro as exquisitely amusing as an equally good comedy on the stage. The exhibition of himself which Mr Clay has recently been making before his constituents at Hull is an entertainment of the same kind, though in a rather different line. Mr Clay does not sneer at the ameni ties of the 'dinner table, but he denounces the study of Latin and Greek with exactly the sort of uneasy rashness and nervous defiance displayed by hospitable ruffians like Mugford. It would be just as foolish, in one case as in the other, to be seriously angry with our entertainer. Most members of the House of Commons, when compelled by the approach of an election to talk at the educational institu tions of their borough, choose some pretty safe and easy subject, which, if not likely to contribute largely to useful knowledge, is at all events easily crammed from a Cycle paella or the back numbers of the Quarterlies, and is not open to much criticism. But Mr Clay scorns such de vices, and, like B Atom, he resolved to " rehearse more ob scenely and courageously." His theme was the too exclu sive use of the Greek and Latin classics in English educa tion. In itself the subject is sufficiently well-worn, but the member for Hull is not the less amusing on that account. Mr Clay's nice appreciation of the spirit of the ancient authors who, as he thinks, have done so much harm to modern education, may bo inferred from a parallel which he draws between the greatest orators of ancient and of modern times. " I confess, ho says, " though lam no fol. Icwereof Mr Spurgeon, that there is something about him, in the rapid and natural movements of his thoughts, and the practical fervour of his address, which reminds me of Demosthenes." There was a spirited drawing in Punch, during the Exhibition of 1862, representing two squab faced "servant - galls," in poor Leech's best style, gazing With fervent admiration on the tinted Venus, and one of them exclaiming to her companion, "Ow like our Hem mar I" Mr Clay, as ho appears when reminded of Demos thenes, strikingly reminds us of Mr Leech's picture. It would be impertinent to wonder how long ago Mr Clay formed an opinion about the oratorical excellences of Demos • sliP iv thenes, just as it would be to doubt . abo ut the ' lg I t ' for connoisseurship of the friend cf bound, in lack of evidence to the crisp ary, to sal ° ii o the easy familiarity with the Dere.ot hen stile` t ot , merely assumed, and to admit that our 9Nv reell As d o "lemnfar. '10,) of the Greek orator must be quite errata ous. And 0 Spurgeon is really like Demosthenes, we call, more Il loP , sympathise with Mr Clay's objections to cl e, sB i i m ito erg 0 , being set up in the public schools for gol . Lord Brougham, in his well-known Jetta t ° , ee j c o+ Macaulay on the best training for Macaulay's so the constant study of the Greek orators. Vl° 0 0' torian, it is to be feared, did not take this advie ° a ,) to heart, or else he might perhaps have aohiev64,l' higher reputation than that which he really flai l ' 8 o lv even rivalled the fame and glory of the DenlesthBile Elephant and Castle. „ fal ' TIIE " LAW TIMES " ON N. BEILIIYEII.—n T-i,o to t i , England, in the cordial reception it has g ive le4 ryer, has welcomed the Bar of Fr ance, of wia,o3eol3:' most distinguished member. It was nc,l the states 011 Legitimist, the politician, whom we m et ia t he l 00 the Middle Temple to honour, but the el° clu elat t'llmore tO ilo , advocate—the man who has maintained for years, through difficulties and even dangers vib ic iea ll 0 ; country we cannot conceive, am id revolutions 11/11 us, defiant alike of the power of kings a nd enVeref,:3 :10 : of 1 more terrible despotism of democracy, the rig;7 l 0' speech, which is the advocate's privilege, li'l3votiP. liberty can never quits perish, w i t h ou t which it ca o iiii It has been the proud fortune of M. Berryer to ls oci' exercise this right on behalf of men of all Part ies :id, opinions ; himself maintaining the while unsWerm. ,cli gianee to a fallen dynasty, to whose fortunes he '', the more closely the more hopeless they b 3ce s t h e ceS,, I But his personal sympathies or antipathies We re " e ,to.', a moment permitted to affect his duties as all a cicc- iliS great legal knowledge, his unrivalled eloque ueet a iqo berant zeal for the cause of his client, were eXcrte. liks for Montalembert, his ally, and for Louis Na13°1e:,,13'00,1 It is for this that the old hall rang again an l " ;Ott Tuesday, with the cheers of the British Bar, eg'f .oo oP' our rough but cordial British fashion , our br oth;adreirt'lll forensic career of the greatest man among our „. e a 0 , bar of France. Listening to his speeches, delly`oo;,/1 circumstances not favourable to an orator, Nve ' ieo' catch a glimpse of the power that has c a p tivated P-0 m r a at ell and controlled senates. Of necessity , roo and subdued ; so was M. Berryer ; but m anifestly en pli trolling his emotions, and repressing an inclinati°' scDir the impulses of excited feeling. We could ialag,iiii3ejolf, torrent of words, what utterance, what action he c c)-- h o f r , did occasion call for them. As it was, his spni,ol' marked by the characteristics that have made P• 1 " - f oit' His voice is full, and clear, and eaely toned , "; P every feeling. His language is the very cheic e i s ': fo!' makes most excellent use of those delicate sllaue-i,f expression of thought, in which his native tcageeeiV, out 'a rival. He has measured precisely the 0 31) ,,i, the perfect, though not powerful, instrument b e 0 14 and he puts it to the best uses in the utteraacevon polished and tolling turns of thought that iralArt:od vellous grace and spirit into the conversation al 3 ' 0 0 positions of our accomplished neighbours. 0 6 , of' singularly subdued, assimilating much to our °: .- 1 ;t1 111 , this respect unlike that of his countrymen, vibc)',"hel)lit'd the platform, in the Senate, in the pulpit, or at ""„ OR dulge in gesticulations which, to our severer Psi, extravagant. But such action as he emploY s ie l lie r9 ‘ 7i , that wo are accustomed to see among the 01:171temoticter'; own country, with whom it is the rarest of plishments of the orator. M. Berry" h as not a 1:115 0 like most of us. He uses both his arms, vib ere t s : 'f°' lishman rarely employs more than one ; all d . 4 - el f l t 7 rents are various, and always graceful' virb ere ; s ( rti l ,' s English orators are, with rare exceptions, 110 " (1 0 0; graceful, and angular. In person M. 13eraervg somewhat stout, with a projecting bro w, and ,cnr e, , o sive eye, and with nothing in his asp ect that l'i iliv' Frenchman. In features he bears a striking r e to the late Baron Platt. -.mon. COUNTRY MARICTS. NORWICH—SireitDAV. We had a fair supply of wheat on offer fro° this morning, and a tolerably good trade doitigio of last week being fully supported. There vl A t show of barley, and the demand was ra odera te ts ofP rates for best kinds ; other sorts were dull. ar ticles inactive. 56, 1 1 4: White wheat. 44s to 458 1 Red w heat .... M a lting barley 3ls to 3:3s Chevalier barloY''.Y, Distilling do 27s to 28s, Oats.... ...... yt u Flour, 26s Od to 28s Od per sack from GRANTHAM—SATURN Se ale p 9 Old white wheat, 42s to 455; red, 39s tiliad new white, 40s to 41s; red, 38s to 40s. DI; 32s to 36s per qr ; grinding, 26s to 280; ° 3 `s"' 275; new, 22s to24s; beans, 36s to 435; Pe° , -4° NOTTINGIIAM—SATuRDO'f. 39r White wheat, from 42s to 50s ; red 1 811 , e°v jo 0 5 ;j Barley—malting, 28s to 358 ; grinding, 2 v 13 , 0 .80 old, at 25s to 30s Od; now, 22s to 255. P" I to 43s per qr.; new, 378 to 398. tOr V 5 Flour, fine, 28s to 308; super, 32s to 015' YORK--SA.TU RDAY t e a ' he t P f i c , To-day there was a tolerable show of v q— s st 1 . 1 " f a ~, of the year, but the quality of the grain wa, B '„ e t 11P47 There was not much life in the demana9,-0 0 Barley an everago supply at late rates. ‘-` in fair demand. 1 9 0 1 Wheat, red 3 8 s to 40s 0at5......... .5 4 '5, 40s t,o 455 Beans ........ White do ../', , f,' Barley .27s to 32s leas ......... ..'llO , Malt, 5Ss to 60s per qr. ; rye, 30s per qr.; to 32s per sack. -- A LEICESTER -SATURDAY' :4f ° Old white wheat, 40s to 425; red, 38s to 4',Dl stone. New white, 40s to 42s per 36 stone. Islaltii'p new, 30s to 33s per qr.; grinding, 28s to v 3 0 sto s; e 26s to 28s; new oats, 22s to 25s per 24 ? old, 38s to 42s per 38 stone ; flour, 315 to 39$ Pe r --- DUBLIN—FRIDAY. Very little wheat offering; foreign firm , bi o l d pe r / Oats in good supply and demand at Gd to i s fi a a d v ance on the week. Barley also i n deoo- Vance of Gd on low qualities. Flour dull. e. 0 10 0 Oatmeal ... Beans.. .... Bere ....... " 0 Rapeseed •• • • 14 Bakers' Ilea'' 21 v Indian cora •• s. d. s.d. Wheat, white.. 22 0 to 23 6 Do., red .. 20 oto2l 6 Do., new 0 to 0 Barley Oats Do., black lO 0 to IL 0 CORK—FRIDAY. v io The following were the quotations this a, 40 wheat, 7s 6d to Ss 4d; white, Ss Od to,Sa `ao,, 2d: to 7s 6d ; oats, 5s Sd to 7s ld ; bla ck 6s 41; here, —s Od. . Foreign Mail Packet la' MAILS DUE. Australia and Mauritius, via Southampto n '' : ,. via Marseilles Brazil and Cape Verds, by British pacltet" e lowpo, Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. ~„toPT4O China, Penang:, and Singapore, via Soutlit!,Tero via Marne' , Falkland Islands Gibraltar, via Southampton ............ tol' 4 `p India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via SouthET,', l9 o6 ,, , 'S,J via Mag a ' y ti India (Bombay), via Southampton ...... ' via Marseilles ........... ,10; ._ . • ' Portuga 1.... ~,., Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southatoptoo•'..,.." via Marseilles e" 0 ' , ..- ~. Newfoundland ......................... .• S" Oporto and Vigo .. ........ • 4 ,0 , , U. S. and British N. America, by Brit. Pt"' xe t. , '" _.by U.S. Pa o n ol , by Canadial;seriir • All parts of West Indies, including Chili, : ~, California. and British Columbia..... .:...., 0, --------- ftli e% ; l Telegraphic intelligence speaks of f 6 ,ed in Tuscany from the rains, The railwaY 13 ' - , 1 10 'l'i away at Empoli, Sienna, Praccho, & o ' . .,, - i ,ge . ,i l broken down its banks and done much 613 , OP ) ' parts of Florence are under water. The o. `" ° i Births. , Opc f °Cl : t':l° ` BROWN.—On the 10th inst., at The ISlOratt, 1 C undle, Dorset, the wife of Captain al,„0 ' sth Lancers, of a daughter. b u r g 1' . ,; BENTINCK.—On the sth inst., at Edillb,%ll'.. i Walter Bentinck, Esq., late of the hal f 0 1 son. f t 43 I ll'i ° V t_ / $6(1,1 t 'll i ~,.‘4tti , t „ 1 A ( T ll4 IVA , t 1 , e t ri , 1' 44 ON/ li t " e' e '.; Thi' l Co, In Ivh,l kei tea lOLFORD.-.-012 the 11th inst ,at 4 t - .1,11 i v Piccadilly, the wife of W. T. Holfo;)01:A.—.' ' ter. lt? lEMPSTEIL — On the sth ult., at Mysore, t`' of ' l3 Col, F, G. Kempster, Madras Staff C 191)3 ' e, ]carriages. ih' t ~ eicrsEw—BURGESS.—On the 10th inst.. c 3" St o ' f r6 e ' • on -Sea, Alfred Michael Agnew. V' sci le , P i C''' Emma, third daughter of the late G°O r '' ioi l, v t i y , " of Maidstone, Kent. PREEDY—WEBBEn. Georgeart William Preody. .R.N.2 C. 13 ., toi:P4l —At Llwhitton, Corligiiol.l e, eldest daughter of G. W. Webbe i . worthy, Cornwall, C' Deaths. A e i BROOXES,—On the 11th inst., in I , °" °c! " r 1 ~ „1011.4 , , Win. Brookes, late Town Major ot I' or i of the 75th Re . 13 0,1 1, A lt BuoADLIURST.—On the 9th inst., at - rJr ; hurst, Belvedere House. riotle' t CAMPBELL,—On the 6th inst ,at the '-'" 13 0 v G , the lion. Mrs. Campbell. . I. , ° e "" 0 1' FLINT.—On the 10th inst at ConW t°ll ~ Esq., aged 75. " .4 )111 , F V r ' - REERE.—On the 11th inst. at Great „ /4/ ,i Ss ,of 0 Edward Barker Freere, M.A., ' eV" - -a - oull fr a v t. M'CuLLocu,—On the 11th inst., Jolla, ''',",ooer, A Esq., Comptroller of her Molest,' 0 ° ta 0 i f r49;;;11 it , lA' ffl' t London : Prinzed and Prblished by --- of No. 112, Strand, Printe r, at 'l.O ~ 4 ru ,- Strand, in the Precinct o f the s3l)gfrio 111.141smii.—Monday, Novelabcr lb _ 'l i t NIP:A 0, er ~` -~ ~~INAi3 celeb FltßXe lt B 1 Itii Ilre Sold 801 ate ,LtentS 11 8 . GRE) ( lbs. )4 11i,e *tie s GYPT Th , nond s 1 ph iRg Lop ti 1 10. 1,,4P,'.01'& - ge fir M es , :rs, Wii t is ‘1 Loan and e SSTS, Cizoi 3 _ B( cur and i le 'l l :l , t r h a o sutho'A 'Pee:al% this Loan Pray iY> ai Fe eu :Pees 01 cu Pees for `ea b OC R 111 e and' oo the covilsers. 4701,20 of ,s re^. CB 1 11 1 : 411 be a t tiP ern si oPtio 4 10 p, 42) 4 C. 4.20 18 1 tes T o b f( x ,t6",.in• qo. .4t To of th at ' her Der eZaty