The Sun. — London, England, 1863-10-12 00:00:00

The E far' of D( 3rby on Middle-class Education On Saturday aLe Lecture-11;11 of the Cone giate Institution, Liverpool, was c rowded, even to inconvenience, by a most brilliant assembi age of ladies and gentlemne, the attraction being the appeal ance of the Earl of Derby, who had con sented to break • through a long-established rule and to pre side on the four ider's anniversary, and deliver prizes to some of the pupils cr anected with the institution, viz., The Mas ters' Universi 17 Exhibition; the prizes given by his lord ship, and obtained by pupils of these schools, this year and last year at ;he Oxford local examinations ; the other prizes and the cart ificates obtained this year at the two University Local Exe =illations ; and some of the prizes gained by pupils oft he institution in the Liverpool School of Art. Those ' mvited to be present were stationed in the body of the hall and first gallery, and the boys, whose noisy and jovial d ezoonstrations at intervals proved them to be in ad xairable 'health and spirits, occupied the galleries. Abor &t 50 of the collegiate cadets, in unform, were ve ry a ttentive in s h owing visitors to their s ea t s , an d making theme otherwise useful. Tb e Earl of Derby (who was received on entering with a Bear ty burst of cheering) was surrounded on the platform by som e of the oldest and most influential friends of the institw ticm, including the Rev. Dr. Howson (principal) and other masters, the Mayor, Mr. C. Turner, M.P., the Rev. Rec tor Campbell, Rev. Cannon M'Neile, Mr. J. A. Tobin, Mr. d. K. Rounthwaite, Mr. N. Waterhouse, Mr. Alderman -.Bennett, Mr. J. A. Tinne, Mr. C. Parker, Mr. Alderman Dover, Mr. Alderman S. Home, Mr. C. Bushell, and other well known clergymen and gentlemen. The proceedings commenced at noon with the singing of " King Alfred's Hymn," after which The Rev. PRINCIPAL, in alluding to the presence of the Earl of Derby, stated that it was in the same month 23 years ago that his lordship laid the foundation-stone of this institution, and since he had accepted the office of patron to the institution no one could possibly have as great a right to presid e a t i ts meetings. Dr. HOWSON then gave the list of prizemen, and for anally introduced his Lordship to the assembly. The Earl of DERRY was received with prolonged and hearty cheering. He said ;—Mr. Principal, ladies and gen- Carnal, and boys of the Collegiate Institution. The Prin cipal has told you very truly that it now is within a few days of 23 years since I had the honour of laying the first stone of this imporiant and magnificent building in which we are novr assembled. It wants but little more than three months of being 21 years s i n ce the time when this building was first opened for the purposes of education, and when its opening was inaugurated by an able and eloquent address from the right hon. gen tleman now the Chancellor of th e use.) Twenty-three and 21 y e a rs ! Exchequer. (Loud app la A short period as compared with that which he hopes will be the life of this young institution, but a period occupying no inconsiderable space in the life of each individual man—a period during which many of those who took an interest in. the earlier proceedings and attended the first establish ment of this institution have passed away from these scenes a;ld have ceased from their earthly labours ; a period during which a whole generation in this busy bustling centre of commercial activity has grown up from infancy to manhood, front boyhood to maturer age ; and it may not be irrelevant or important that, when this college is entering upon its majority, we should take the opportunity of casting a retrospective glance upon the circumstances which have led to its establishment, and upon the progress which it has made hitherto; and that I should also say a few words ',von its present position, and what we hope for its future prospects. I need not say to those who know the history of education in this country that 50 years ago —I speak of a time when I myself was a boy at Eton— the education of this country was upon a deplorably low sta.adarcl ; that the amount afforded of public education for any class of society was exceedingly scanty in amount, and exceedingly deficient in character. It is true, indeed, that to a certain portion of the higher, or at all events the wealthier classes the public schools afforded a certain degree of instruction and of education ; but at the same time, with out *.vishing in the least degree to disparage thoseclassical stud lee which at that time formed the almost entire and exclusive subject of instruction at Eton—those studies from wb ich I hope that I have myself derived some advantage, at si which I am sure have procured fo:. me great enjoyment -I say without in the slightest degree disparaging studies which I hope will always be considered as an essential por tion of a liberal education in this country, 1 am bound to say that at the time of which I speak—things have much improved since—whatever benefit a boy derived from his instruction at Eton was derived much more from the effect produced upon his character by the social influence of that little miniature world of which he was a citizen than by any cultivation of his intellect or expansion of his mental powers which he could derive from the ordinary business of the school. I believe that Eton was a tolerable representa tiw at that time of the state of the public schools gene rally, and such as that education wasit is quite evident that 'with some few exceptions, the education which it did afford - were only available to the wealthier classes, and to persons, at all events, in easy circumstances of life. With regard to the other classes, education was infinitely more deficient still. The ancient grammar schools—excellent as they were in th air original intention, and adapted to the time for which tlaey were founded—were insufficient to meet the require neenta of the present age, even if they had not in many cases, 'from apathy, from neglect, from abuse, and from insufficient endowment became wholly or partially insufficient. At the time of which I speak—God be praised that a change has taken place since—there were many excellent men who ap prehended serious danger from communicating instruction and education to the lower classes of society, and thought it was absolutely essential to the well •being of the country that these classes, in order that they might not be dissatisfied with their condition, should be kept in a state of profound ignorance. lam speaking of opinions and feelings which prevailed many years ago. A change, however,—a vast change, —has come over the feelings of society upon these subjects; and I am not quite sure that we do not, with re gard to the lower class of society, run some risk of falling into the opposite error, not of over- educating—for I think it is imposssble to over-educate boys who are capable of re ceiving such an amount of instruction as may be given to them during the short period to which their school attend ance is confined ; but I am afraid there is some risk with regard to the lower classes that our education should be too ambitious, and that in striving to crowd a vast amount of instruction into the very limited space of time which alone can be afforded, we run the risk of getting, not a sound wholesome, elementary education, but a superficial smat tering of a great deal without a solid knowledge of that which is most useful. (Applause.) The great improve ment, however, which took place in the education of the lower-classes made still more apparent the lamentable deficiency of any proper provision for those whom we call, by a familiar and colloquial expression, the "middle classes" of society ; and it was to meet the want which was then more and more felt, and felt more especially in the great commercial towns of this country, that almost simul taneously were established, as I believe, the Collegiate In stitution of Liverpool, the school at Itossall, the Colleges of Marlborough and Cheltenham, and, I believe, several esta blishments of a simil ar d escr i p ti on. N ow, I h ave used the ter m middle classes, because it is one which has a certain colloquial and well-understood significance, although one which I believepoiot i o t f w fa ould be found excedingly diffi l cul t l to define. In of ourdrsnocwiala oondtand it is one of the great hap pinessese of distinction in this country—it is almost impossible to gradealina Unction between the various classes and the the lowest, society is classesof distributed. which, from highest to try, as in many oth ers , a b road, el There is not i n thi s coun tinction between diff erent ka ear, and sharp line of dis which it is impossibl e t o pass over f ad different con diti ons o ther, and which keep s up a pormanroom the o ne a id e or the different classes of soci e ty. I n this contust barrier between the line. The distinction of rank and social try there is no such doubt, understood and respected ; but, on the one are, no descendant in the second generation of the hi su hand, the the realm has no distinguishing mark to separate Peer in the community at large. He is rather absorbesd,hflrs from s ay, in the general class of society, an hi s Position that time must be dependent, like the position of fro au others, his own industry, his own talents , and upo n ( On the other hand, we s ee daily App l a use.) e th e rank s of the peerage and °f d f the highest cl asses recruited from the class of the , m iddle and lower giving fresh life, fresh bloo d , an d fresh energy to the ranks into whi c h t h ey • mo re encouragement and more atim enter, and giving proceed. (Cheers.) u - to those from wh ich they p B u t sup posing we were to draw a line, which I think a ft er all inexact would be a very one, and suppose from the m iddl e b belongine• to the higher cla sses , class we were to exclu de, as all those who from inherited fortune or position have had the opportunity of obtaining for themselves and the means of giving to their children a liberal education, and are to any provision, • i ndependent of the necessities of app l y in g miPisese, on the other hand, we exclude as belonging to the lowestelass all those whose daily subsistence is dependent upon their daily manual labour—l ask you to look what a vast amount, what an immense social range, what infinite gradar I ° ,l B are left between these two extremes, all of which gradations andmean by the te that which we middle—. iasseeo r f anks constitute .It would be very easy to say t thin or in this to the higher classes, this (Ina that person "he belongs b the lower class," but for on lengs to the middle, and that to eurately define. theevrhosQ Position you could distinctly, impossible to to say, soadare hundreds of whom it would be bably would not agreezith regard to whom two people or h l higher-middle, to thoh_ether they belonged to the higher, Such is the happy fusio n by or to the lower class. tion melts into and is aby,owthhich one rank and one grads harmonious chain by w h ich. tiled by another, forming the together in this happy country e whole of society is bound is not without a purpose that (Lend cheers.) Now, it ma y appear to be somewhat irle..4 entered upon what sion of what may he intended f au n d . e ts us and nie • m iddle-class." I have done so because" by the terms bearing upon the object and intention with which it has a direct insti tution was founded. Looking to the extent is this classes as I have defined them—that active, et ( 1 ): the middle the leaven of the whole social comr nuo i sy _ wh r i g eh e tis body, nishel no inconsiderable number of on: Est has fur has furnished by fa r the lar ge s t proportion of the l7bheirca ili professions, the bar, the bench, and the epiens I,oanch, also, which has distin g uished itself i n the army, which, i n point of fact, has supp lied e very liberal profession with some of its brightest ornaments, 111 might be permitted to pause for a moment, I have often heard the late Sir Robert Peel make it a subject of boast that he belonged to and had sprung from the middle classes of society—(hear, hear)—and we all know that, by his own energy and in dustry the father of Sir Robert Peel raised himself from a position certainly not entitling him to be placed above the middle classes. I remember that, 20 years ago, another right hon, gentleman, and an ornament of this country at the present time—l mean the Chancellor of the Exchequer —made it his boast that he, too, was sprung from the middle class of society, and he pointed with pride to the honourable example and the honourable position which had been at tained by his respected father, who was well known in Liver pool as a merchant, and respected by all who knew him. (Cheers.) From the middle class have sprung such lawyers as Eldon, and Stowell, and Lyndhurst, and St. Leonardo. (Cheers.) From the middle class have sprung such soldiers as Clyde. (Renewed cheers.) From the middle class have sprung men of science too numerous to be mentioned, and among whom it would be invidious to draw a distinction by naming any one. Bat what I was about to say was this — that, looking to the infinite gradations which are comprised in this middle class, to the various prospects of life, to the various abilities and circumstances of those comprised within that great range, the idea of establishing an education for the middle classes in a single school will at once be seen to be absurd and preposterous. The education necessary and becoming for the son of a wealthy merchant or banker, or even for the higher classes of the tradesmen, would be far above that which would be requisite or desirable for, or within the means and capacities of, the small tradesman and shopkeeper, who also belong though to the lower stages of the middle class. Row, then, was it possible in one insti tution to give at once an education suited to the position, to the fortunes, and to the prospects of classes of society rang ing over so vast an extent and including among them so many differences? The only mode which could possibly meet the difficulty was that which has been adopted in this Collegiate Institution—namely, in opening within the same ' building not one but three separate educational establish ments, into any of which it might be permitted for any parent to enter his son according to the position which he himself held, to his pecuniary means, and to his son's pro bable prospects and future destiny in life. Of course, the higher education includes a higher payment; but the pay ment even of the highest is one of the most moderate de cription, while, on the other hand, the sum for which a sound, plain English education can be obtained in the lower school is within the compass of almost any parent mixing in ordinary society,and certainly conveying in parts an amount of benefit to the boy infinitely surpassing the expense to which the parent is put to obtain it, (Hear, hear.) The three schools, therefore, into which it is at the option of any parent to enter his son, and thereby himself to appraise and assess, as it were, his own position, are the higher, the middle, and the lower school. These are not, as the terms would perhaps suggest, grades of the same school, from one of which a boy might be passed in accordance with the pro gress made in his education, but they are entirely separate and distinct schools, though under the same management— entirely separate and distinct in the amount, at all events, of the education which they give. I may briefly say the lower school applies itself to what is called an ordinary Eng lish education, with some knowledge of French, but to the exclusion altogether of any classical studies whatever. The middle school, of course, requires a larger range and affords a higher cultivation. It includes a knowledge of German, mathematics, and Latin; but it does not go te the higher kind of classics, and does not, I believe, include any know ledge of Greek. The upper school, from which a certain portion, at all events, go to the Universities, includes also among its studies those classical studies to which I have referred, as well as various branches of learning which are deemed essential to a modern, although not thought essential to au ancient education. Now, I have said that these are separate schools, and they are separate to all intents and purposes, although it is at the option of any parent to place his son in any of them ; but to this separa • tion there is one exception —an exception which I think has worked very beneficially. In each half year, it is compe tent of the managers of the school to elect for merit some one boy from the lower school to the middle, and from the middle to the higher, that raising not involving (as it would be unjust that it should) an additional pecuniary payment to the parent, but obtaining for the boy, at the lower rate of payment, a higher class of education, that higher class of education having been earned by his own merits, talent, and industry. (Loud applause.) And lam happy to say that among those to whom it will be my pleasing duty to offer prizes for success upon the present occasion, are two who have both commenced in the lower school, have worked their way successfully to the middle, and from the middle to the upper school, and in the upper school have not only placed themselves in the first class of University examina tions, but have both been at the very head of those local University examinations, not for the centre of Liverpool alone, but for the whole of the United Kingdom. (Cheers.) Now, I have stated the causes which led to the formation of this institution, and to the want which called it forth. I may say, perhaps, now a few words upon the progress which, in the space of 21 years, this institution has made. For some years after its establishment its success appeared to be in some doubt—and from the year 1843 to 1847 the numbers in the several schools, so far from increasing, had a tendency to diminish. In the upper school, undoubtedly, the numbers have gradually increased from the original foundation—but in the middle schools between 1813 and 1847, the numbers had fallen from 240 to 137. The lower had increased certainly from 208, but only to 230 ; ' and the total decrease in the numbers of the three schools was from 507 down to 454. But from that period the destinies of the institution have materially changed, and during the 14 years under which it has had the advantage of the presidency of the respected and honoured Principal, now by my side—the Rev. Dr. Howson—(loud cheers)—the progress of these schools had not only been satisfactory, but I think I may venture to say unprece dented. (Cheers.) I make less account of the mere numeri cal progress of the schools, but it may he satisfactory to know that between 1847 and 1863 the numbers of the upper school have increased from 87 to 159, of the middle echeol from 137 to 325, of the lower school from 230 to 363, making a total increase in the course of the 16 years of from 454 to no less than 847. (Laud applause.) But I said I laid less stress upon the actual numerical amount than upon the distinctions and the honours which pupils of these schools have obtained. I see, also, another gratifying proof that the parents in this town are becoming daily more and more sensible of the advantages of a higher class of educa tion, and that the numbers of those who, at their own op tion, are being removed from the lower to the middle, and from the middle to the upper school, are constantly on the increase, In the course of last year 14 boys have removed from the middle to the upper school, from the lower school 13 to the middle, and three from the lower to the upper school at once. Now, I think this affords a satisfactory proof, not only that the people of this town appreciate the value of a liberal education, but also that they feel that the liberal education is to their own eyes and knowledge freely and generously offered by the Collegiate Institution. (Cheers.) Far the greater portion of those educated even in the upper school are intended for business and for va rious professions, which renders it necessary that they should leave at a comparatively early age. I wish, I confess, that parents took a different view, and permitted boys, even when intended for professions, to remain to a much later age. But a very small proportion of those educated at this college have been intended for and have gone to the Univer sities, and they are almost the only boys whose future course can be traced with accuracy. It is true, certainly, that one of our earliest prizemen has, within the last year or two, stood first in the highly scientific institution of Wool wich, and has obtained a commission in the Engineers by competitive examination. It is also true, and a most grati fying fact, that within this year two of the former prize boys of the institution have been successful candidates for the Indian Civil Service Examination—no slight test of their general knowledge and ability. But I think the cir cumstance I have to mention with regard to the Universi ties are such as it is difficult, if it is possible, to match with regard to any other educational establishment, In the last two years there have been from this college no less than five Wranglers from the University of Cambridge. (Cheers.) In course of last year we had adopted no less than three, and two of those have held respectively the very high position upon of fourth and e i g hth W rangler. Besides this I hold in my hand a list of di s ti nct i ons which have been conferred at Cambridge pupils from this institution in the course of the last year. The list is headed by a gentleman most in appropriateland laughter.) al; young y named Sinker, because of the most risin g v er, he appears to be one pos, the Scholefield y Prize, men of the present day. (Cheers Sinker has at Trinity College obtained the Carus University mark for the first class Theological Tri- Wranglers in the prise for Biblical Greek, and the distin guishingers—P, obtained presen e t w. I have mentioned already three no year. Two of these, besides the legs prizes for readi ng of of be my pleasing andeornd class classical tripes and col wrang 10 has obtained the degre e ee SenioregularitY o ll e i gt, one lege Greek TestamentOptime,c ndanotheruct , the while c o o n l. e already spoken, and of whom' aintd !nether, of whom I have award a prize this day, has willobtained an open duty scholarehi This is the small list of prizes obtained at et Catherine CambridgeC oorfraom this collage to b t y o in the course tion that the average of boys who Year, and when I men in proper the Universities does not exceed fou r g of a year. I think this amount of Mai n " tion to the number sent, is one which w eti°; a ny educational institution in the worlds t na o e m y e e e ll t a a l n ie d ng to e rota the obsery parallel. (Applause.) Before I p ass f t i one upon the education given hero I ought to t ee t.:,: one euljct, which is not only of the highest, hull: of unpa ralleled importance--I mean th a t i n a l l cases, and in all the make schools —the part of education here gi ven a sound re„ li g i ous instruct ion according to the doctrines and p r i nciples an essential highest, and lowest, and th e middle —they of the Church of England. (Applause.) Whatever else may be necessa ry, iinneceseary, or superfluous for each of the different ranks into w hich those schools are divi ded, there is, at all events, this one subject, which is of equal itn portance to the high, to the middle, and tothelew, and which it is the boast and the hono ur of this institution to be given to all those an essential part of the instruction to . have, from its first foundation, incorporated . with and made Who co me within its walls. From the first foundation of this institution it has not only b ee n decided that the educa itioni, given to all th e p u pil s s h ou ld be of a strictly religious e w - r tet er, but also that it sh ou ld be in close connec ti o n h the service, discipline, and doctrine of the Church of England. How, then, it may be asked, can this system work for the benefit of the middle-classes in general in a community which comprises among its members a very considerable number of Protestant Dissenters ? I think the solution has been found by acting upon a very simple prin ciple, and demonstrating that, where this principle is fairly and honourably carried out, there is less difficulty —at all events with regard to the point of religious education —with Protestants of different denominotions than is usually sup posed to exist. It has been determined in this college to introduce that which, with regard to the Government schools, is known as the "conscience clause" —that is, while we require that the service of the Church of England should be exclusively made use of, that every boy should attend those services, that the teaching should be in conformity with the doctrine of the Church of England, and that the teachers, with the exception of these of foreign languages, should be members of the Church of England; it has also been decided, and I think with a judicious and wise tolera tion, that those boys whose parents object to their being instructed in the catechism and formularies of the Church of England should be exempt from so much of attendance upon and teaching of the services of the Church. And the best proof that can be given that this a sound and reason able principle is, that a few years ago—and I have no reason to suppose the proportions are materially changed --the number of Nonconformists in the higher school amounted to 10 per cent., in the middle school to 20 per cent., and in the lower school to no less than 30 per cent. of Ihe whole population, thus showing that while we adhere strictly to the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England, there is no intolerable obstacle to our affording with perfect satisfaction to a large body of Dissenting Pro testants a sound religious education. (Cheers.) I now pro ceed to a point of very considerable importance, and which has been adverted to by the Principal—viz., the subject of University Local Examinations. Within the last few years the range of education given at the Universities themselves has been considerably extended. New schools of natural and physical science have been introduced and made the subject of direct competition, and conditions for obtaining degrees. The Universities themselves, therefore, have con siderably enlarged their range of teaching as qualifications for obtaining the University degree; and it is a great satis faction to me to think that the measure adopted by the Universities of thus communicating with the whole mass of the community has been satisfactorily carried out by the happy adoption of a principle which introduces to the teach ing and to the examination of the members of the Univer sity thosewhose circumstances or position do not enable them to become members of the University itself. I have always felt, with all the fondness for the Universities which I sincerely entertain, that we have been too much aloof from the great mass of the population, and that the great body of the country did not take that interest in them which their real importance and value eminently deserve. But I think by the quasi incorporation of a large number of schools in the teachings and examinations of the University a most important connecting link has been introduced be tween them and the population at large, most beneficially for the Universities themselves, and most beneficially, also, for those colleges and establishments which are brought into immediate connexion with them. (Cheers.) The ex aminations adopted by the examiners from Cambridge and Oxford act, necessarily, as a great stimulus, and confer a great distinction upon the members of the middle, and even the lower classes. They act as a great stimulus to the boys, and I am not sure that they are not of almost equal importance in!acting as a great stimulus to the masters of the various schools throughout the country. These exams' nations bring together the candidates for honours from all the various schools, and it is a matter of justifiable and laudable ambition in the master of a school that has WY' should be able to distinguish themselves in competition with those from other schools in the same centre, and, indeed, in the country at large. There is only one risk attendinu this, and I am sure it is one which the discretion and good judgment of your respected principal will prevent him over falling into ; it may act as a temptation to m asters to concentrate a great portion of their time and attention upon the most promising boys, and those who are like l y to reflect honour upom theta in the University, to the com parative neglect of less promising boys, and those from whom they may expect to derive a less amount of credit. (Hear, hear.) I am certain this is a danger which only requires to be pointed out to be at once recognised and understood, and in this instance, at all events, I am satisfied that, being recognised and understood, it i s one which will be studiously av o id e d. (H ear, hear.) I will not take up your time by entering upon a discussion of the character of the examinations that are required to be gone into by the candidates for academical honours. Of course they vary in extent, and still more in the amou nt of knowledge required accordi ng t o t h e senior or jun i or classes. The senior classes, you a re aware, must not be a bove the age of 18 years, and th e j un i or c l ass at the two U n i v ersities must not exceed the age s o f 15k . T hese are the res trictions, and it is provided that, b e f ore enter i ng up3n any examina tion at all, it is neces sar y f or a preliminary examination to take place, in order to satisfy the examiners that in attend ing to the higher bran c h es o f k nowledge the e l e mentary instruction has not bee n over l oo k e d or partially t a ken up. The preliminary ex am i nat i on compr i ses, rea di n g aloud, writrng, parsing, Engli s h, ar i t h metic, some know ledge of geography, and the outlines of English history, the quality of the handwriting, and the spelling are also taken into ac • count. These are the preliminary examinations to qualify the junior candidates for entering upon the competitive ex aminations. They are then to be instructed, an d be exa mined in the rudim en t s o f f a i t h an d re li g i on ; that is, not only a kn ow l e d ge o f th e contents of the Bible, but also in the Catechism, the Morning and Evening Ser vices, and the Litany. For these, distinguishing marks will b e g i ven, to count in est i ma ting the whole scale of merit. There is some difference between the two Universiti es w ith regar d to this re li g i ou s question. They both of th em a d opt t h e same princ i p l e , in, point of fact, which has been adopted in this school —namely, that boys whose parents object should not be examined in the distinctive doctrines of the Church of England, in the Church of England Catechism, and the Church of England Prayer Book, although they may obtain marks for profi ciency in these if they choose to make them up to the University of Oxford ; an arrangement differing from that of Cambridge, which refuses a certificate to boys by a set of examinations in what is called the rudiments of faith and religion, unless they should have gone up in both exami nations. At an ear l y per i o d t h e U n i vers i ty o f Oxford, from what I think was a mistaken view of the reverence and respect due to religious studies, thought it was disparaging those studies to make them the subject of examination. I understand perfectly the sentiments which dictated this, but I think the principle was erroneous and has proved to be so. It has been abandoned by the University of Oxford since, and that step has been attended by consequences which lam about very shortly to mention. I think it was a mistaken view, because I know perfectly well that such is the nature n o t o f b oys only, but of men , that they w ill give their great es t a tt en ti on to, and take the greatest pains with, tho se su bj ects b y w h ich they are to o bt a i n im me di a t e distinction and immedi a t e h onour , B u t if you say to a boy you shall be examined in this or that subject—no matter how important it is—but your examination, however, shall not count in any way towards a mark of distinction youare to obtain f rom t h e U n i versity, the boy natura lly d ec li nes to compete upon a di sa d van t age, and he applies himself to those subj ec t s, and those subjects only, from w hi c h h e is to obtain distinction an d h onour. (Ch eers. ) Well, now, what has been the result in the years 1861 and 1862 of the altera tion made in the University examinations ? In 1861 there were 935 examined, of whom 571 were examined in the rudi ments of faith and religion, and 338 satisfied the examiners. The next year the University determined to give marks for this examination, and next year the numbers examined increased from 939 to 1,021, the whole number examined. The numbers examined in faith and religion amounted to 939 out of the 1,021, including 217 not examined in the Cathechism and the Church of England, and the num bers who satisfied the examiners were not, as in the pre vious year, 338, but no less than 538; in itself a con vincing proof of the wisdom of the alteration, and that attention to faith and to religion was not disparaged or brought into contempt by being made a portion of the general examination, and placed, as it were, on a level with other studies. (Applause.) Now, it happened in 1859 and 1860 that many boys from the Liverpool centre failed in the rudiments of " faith and religion." On the contrary, since this alteration has been made, and since prizes have always been given, which are not restricted to those who have so satisfied the examiners, the number of boys who have satisfied the examiners in "faith end religion" has very largely increased, and forms a very considerable portion of those who go up f rom thi s centre f or public examina tion. Now I think, considering that the range of examina tion comprises so many subjects as it does of high attain ment, and that classical studies form a very prominent, though not exclusive part of it, it will be obvious to all who do me the honour of listening to me that boys from the middle and lower schools enter upon these competitions at a great disadvantage. They are able to take up a much smaller range of subjects, and to put themselves upon all equality with their competitors, they are obliged to be much more accurately and thoroughly versed, and much more successful, in those fewer studies in which they go to be examined ; and it is a matter I think of great congratula tion in the present year that among those who have attained the two first classes in the University of Cambridge there is one boy who comes from the middle school. There are five at Cambridge who have attained a first class, and one of these is from the middle school. There are none in the second class, none in the third class, none in the fourth class. At the Oxford examination we have three boys in the first class, and it is a very remarkable circumstance that all th ese t h ree boys should win first-class honours, one a senior, an d t h e other two juniors. All are boys who have raised the mse l ves from the lower to a higher school, to the atiapper passed sch t , r ,e o l m ; e the n: lowerhan passedto the from middle,thn middle and id a le to gain the upper, one has passed from the lower to the middle school, and one still in th e m iddl e school has earned what I consid er t h e high d istinction o f b e i ng p l ace d i n the fi rst class of the college second class there are h e two t seven examinations. Of those who are in the the disadvantages from hundere h (two juniors), and a ll, with exceptions, middle. class ; and looking to I will not say a t an equalw ich the middl e sc h oo l s t ar t s , of which they m a y well be rd' to have att a i n ed, oven honour, but it is an honour to a second class, going h cu t the middle to the upper early age, and from Ther e is one boy in the soctooan second class who still being in the lower school, and not being able to take up any classical studies, has succeeded in the University examinations in obtaining a second class. (Loud applause.) There is one subject more, and I will re lease you from what I am aware must have been a very tedious and protracted examination. (No, no, and cheers.) aboutThereisonechangwehichl think to be promises emadeint to b the arrangements of ngements of this institute signal benefit to the boys and to the college itself. For the first half-year of its existence the college was in a state of doubt ful prosperity, and involved in a considerable amount of debt. Happily that debt has been cleared off, and not only so, but a considerable reserve fund acquired by the college to meet any contingencies, and provide additional improve ments. Now it was, of course, a matter of consideration with the managers and directors of the school how the overplus money should be applied. It might have been applied in increasing the emoluments of the masters; it might have been applied in diminishing the cost of education to the dif ferent classes; it might have been resolved to meet future contingencies ; but it was decided —and I think wisely, look ing rather to the future advantage than to the immediate profit of the school—that £2OO a-year should be devoted to the establishment of 20 scholarships, each to be hell for half a year only, four in the upper, eight in the middle, and eight in the lower. The practical. result of these scholarships will be that in each of these schools the boy will obtain for that half-year a gratuitous education, and I apprehend there is no reason why a boy, having obtained a scholarship in on e half. year, should not compete for another in a suc ceeding half-year. Three of these scholarships are intended for boys upon an examination on their first entrance. The remainder are to be given to boys as a reward for profi ciency in several classes, and for position in the class lists ; but, at the same time, having reference to the ages of the boys, so that out of th e e i g ht di fferent scholarships one will be held by a boy of 13, another by a boy of 11, another by a boy of nine, and soon. That every boy will have a stimulus to exert himself in his own class, as compared with those of his own age, the younger not being placed at a disadvan tage with their superiors in dge, and a stimulus being given to the advancement of the boys and to the progress of the college, while an additional inducement is afforded to pa ' rents to send their boys where they can obtain not only these scholarships, which give a gratuitous education, but which afford also contingent advantages, furnished by the Univer sity local examinations in the prospect of University honours and emoluments. In conclusion, his Lordship observed that though the remarks which he made contained probably nothing new to many of those present, yet as they would go forth far beyond that assembly, he thought it due to the town of Liverpool and to the Collegiate Institution that the country at large should know how high a value that great commercial town set upon the benefits of a liberal and clas sical education. (Loud applause.) The institution had been singularly fortunate in having at its head the respected and esteemed Principal, the Rev. Dr. Howson (great cheer ing), under whose managemen t an d gu id ance, his lordship anticipated for it, not only a continuance of its success, but a constantly increasing prosperity and honour, from the distinction gained by its pupils, and the benefits conferred upon the neighbourhood. His lordship resumed his seat amid loud cheering. Mr. Roebuck, la p„ on Working Men's Institutions. Mr. Roebuck, thatinstitution, John M ow l em , Institut©, Swanage, o , 'Wednesday evening, D M,P., d e li vere d an address at th e M ow l ent Esq., founder of the insti on the inauguration of a s er ies of lectures to be deliv ere d a t tute, occupied the chair. Mr. ROEBUCK, aft er some i ntro d uc t or y remar k s, said he considered working emlea e r f n th to ese t men's institutions should be supple mentary to the o th er educational facil i t i es i n the town. He continued—Wheth er a man is dest i ne d t o b e a philosopher, us must . both e or whether h e i s d estined simply to be a shopkeeper in this town, the b eg i nn i ng of his education—the beginning of the They learn m h of educati o n th and they must b oth o them learn the elements of arithmetic ' read, w o theyal men — is B s t the both o f same. em to write, and h That which peculiarly distinguishes the human being from . all the other animals is, first, that hecan acquire knowledge by experience; and, secondly, that he can store it up. The brute animal sta r t s exact l y w h ere hi s f a th er b egan. I n t hi s man is distingui s h e d f rom a ll th e o th er an i ma l s, h e can ac quire knowledge by experience, and he can store it up, and can mould it into such a shape that it becomes capital for the offspring who succeed him. The:man who succeeds him starts where he left off; and this is the great peculiarity of man• kind. Therefore, w e l earn first to read—that teaches us to acquire knowledge ; thenywe learn how to write—that teaches us to hoard knowledge, so that others who come after us may learn what we have learned much more easily than we have done. Morally and intellectually, all instruc tion ought t o b e a lik e. Th ey oug h t a ll t o b e mora ll y taught alike. The morals of the poor man ought to be like the morals of the rich man. One class of human beings can set an example to another, so that improvement may come up ')n improvement, whilst they wend their way from the cradle to the grave, growing better, and better, and better. There are means now held to every man that enable him to improve himself in a wa y th a t our f a th ers k new no t . Th e printing press has enabled all men to attain the means of education, however low may be their position. At this present moment there are in London publications so cheap that they are within the reach of every man ; and I would mention, in particular, to the gentlemen who govern this institution, the publication of Cassell. (Hear, hear) They are really so good that they may be put into anybody's hands, and so cheap that anybody may obtain them. And now, sir, I would address myself to another point, I moan the lectures that are to be delivered in this hill. When a man or woman leaves school their education is really n A finished. Reading, writing, and arithmetic are not knowledge; they are the means of acquiring know ledge. You may give them after they have loft school in struction of the greatest possible importance, and if you deliver it in the shape of lectures, y ou d e li ver it i n a way in which in olden time many were compelled to receive in struction. It may be of advantage to make a prOgramme, and that programme I will now endeavour to make. I will do it in this way. I will suppose a centre, several concentric circles are drawn from the same centre, but at different distances from that centre. The first circle contains the circumstances that regard man as an individual; the next circle will contain those circumstances that regard man in his family relations; the third circle the circumstances that regard man in his social relations; and the fourth circle the circumstances that regard man in his political associations. (Hear, hear.) Hitherto the labouring man— by far the larger number of community—has been consi dered of very little worth when men are talking about edu cation. It has been felt that his lot in life was to labour, to eat and drink, to continue his race, and to die. But I have a higher conception. (Cheers.) I believe that he has a soul to be saved, a mind to be taught, a great destiny to fulfil, many pleasures to enjoy ; and being, in my mind, one of the larger number of the community as well as the much more important part, his welfare becomes to mo of the greatest consideration. (Hear, hear.) I would ask myself what there is in the life of a labouring man that pre vents him aspiring to all the finer emotions of mankind. If I see a clerk whose business it is to drive the quill over a sheet of paper during the long-life toil of his days, no man would tell me that he cannot have all these finer feelings. But is there anything in that man that proves him to be a more important being, or one more natu rally capable of enjoying existence than the labouring man ? I say that a man like that may have a mind capable of anything of greatness, of goodness, and of intellect. (Hear, hear.) That man, being an Englishman, is one of that race that has weighed the planets in the balance, told us how this universe is conducted through its days and hours, tracked the comet in its vagrant course through the pathless sky—and shall we tell him that in point of intellect he is not capable of anything ? Therefore, I say, a great book may be written upon what the poor man can and ought to be taught, and if you can find a lecturer who shall teach the poor man what he can be taught you would have put your hand upon a jewel of price. (Hear, hear.) Thus far, sir, then upon the first circle. What can we make of the working man ? I say you can make anything of him; the stuff is there. Let me ask you, sir, to find lecturers—if you can find them—who shall instruct the labouring classes in their various family relations of husband, wife, and parent. In all these various relations that class has much to learn. Unfortunately, I believe the m oral duties of the working The son are not pressed uPoR him as they ought to be. son does not understand the sort of love that he ought to bear to his parents. (Hear, hear.) He says, " I am here, I did not bring myself here. I must make the most of what I can get, and I shall not be very careful and not very solicit ous a b ou t those around me." Then, again, when young people leave school I suppose they think of getting married. Yet, what do they know and what do they think of the duties of a father or a mother ? Little or nothing. Th ey have not studied the character of children—they have not studied even what is necessary for bringing up their children. All this, sir, might be taught if you could get a lecturer to teach them. Now, sir, I come to consider the working man in his social relations. The first great relation of the working man is the relation of em ployer and employed. I want to know where are the work ing men generally—l ask you are they in Dorsetshire—wh o understand the real relations of employer and employed ? Why, sir, until a few years back the educated classes did not understand it; and there were, I am sorry to say, in this neighbourhood very great men who set their faces dis tinctly against instructing the working man upon the re lations of employer and employed. (Hear, hear.) These men have passed away, and their ideas have passed away, . and that unfortunat e sc ience which called political economy has become one of the things which it is thought •requisite to teach the working class. Now, sir, if you can catch a labourer who can make political eco nomy understandable by the working man, you will h ave got another jewel of great price. Agriculture at the pre sent moment is becoming a science, and I want to know what poor John in the fields knows about the science of agricul ture. He - whistles after his horses, he ploughs w ith t h em, he sows the seeds, he reaps the grain, he thrashes it, and perhaps he eats some of it, but not much, and there ends his concern with the matter in hand. Tho science of the steam engine must be taught the labourer, and more than that, the great science connected with his business in life might be taught him. Again, sir, I would ask the lecturer who comes here for the purpose of descanting upon the natural sciences to consider the best means of instructing them that will hear him. The great object to which he ought to turn the results of his science is to instruct the people around him ; not to make a parade of his learning ; not to make use of long words, and Latin, and Greek—and rather bad Latin and bad Greek, It is not that we want—what we want is to instruct the labouring men around us—we want to make them equal—and I use the word advisedly —equal in intellect to ourselves, and then we shall make this earth the paradise for which it was intended. Now, sir, I am going to speak of the political relations of the working man. The large majority of Englishmen know really nothing of the institutions under which they live. The poor uneducated man thinks that he is bound to the narrow circle in which he was born, and that his mind need not travel beyond that circle; but, sir, if the mind of England were commensurate with the extent of its population, how much greater should we be—how many more bright intel lects should we employ in making ourselves more prosperous than we are now ? And where one man now strives for this and thousands would be employed in the same business. (Cheers.) The poor man walks in safety through the streets as the richest man amongst us. His rights are as well protected, his being is as safe as that of the Queen upon her throne. Why is this, sir ? It is because there have been men of England who have understood their position, who have fought fur all they have gained, and who have made us what we are--a well-governed people. Well, sir, there is no harm in extending that knowledge through all classes of society. Time was, indeed, when it was said that great mischief might arise from instructing the people. I have known our forefathers say there was danger in putting arms into the hands of the people ; but I have lived to see the time when the volunteers of Eng land—(cheers) —are armed for a purpose. If they choose they could do great mischief to us ; but, instead of that, they are our great defence ; and England is impregnable because her people can be armed. (Hear, hear.) Well, with respect to the constitution of England, I do see through the great mischiefs that have arisen and are daily arising from the mass of mankind, ignorant and ill-conditioned, having the power to govern a great people. I wish the people to be instructed and then to have the power of employing that instruction, and that they may have all the benefit of their condition in life and all the mighty good which is around them. I would ask you, sir, again to get that lecturer who shall tell and teach the people their great poli tical interests. After a few other remarks upon the benefits arising from the application of steam to printing, the hon. gentleman concluded by commending the institution to the sympathies of the public. A vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. Roebuck, and briefly acknowledged. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. SPECTATOR.—The event of the week has been a harmless but widely-felt earthquake, which shot across the island from west to east at 3.20 a.m. on Tuesday morning, wakening a considerable num ber of British householders from their sleep. It was severest in the neighbourhood of Liverpool, at Hereford, Worcester, and Derby; but it was felt on the south coast and on the British Channel, and struck a ship in St. George's Channel 20 miles west of Milford Haven. It does not appear to have been perceived at all on the Continent of Europe, nor, we think, at any point further north than Southport, in Lancashire, on the west coast; or the Vale of Pickering, in Yorkshire, in the midland region ; nor at any place exactly on the east ooast. But as far east us Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, and North amptonshire, in the north, and as Rochester, in Kent, in the south of England, the shock was dis tinctly felt. In London it was perceived, but evi dently much more slightly than in the west. A shock of earthquake was felt in Normandy on the Sunday, but not on the day in question. Of course all the scared Britons at once confided their sensa tions and those of their wives and children to the Times, which opened wide its columns to receive them, printing on Wednesday and Thursday 53 personal letters, many impersonal reports, and, al together, seven and a half columns of small type concerning British "seismological" emotions. The prevalent type of intellect amongst them, on find ing itself awakened from sleep in a rather startling manner, at once suggested " thieves"—so truly does the Bible illustration that the day of the Lord shall come upon men " like the thief in the night" hit the weak point in the British imagination—the dread of losing portable property unawares. Some gentlemen plunged honestly beneath the bedclothes; some delayed getting up on the insincere pretence that perhaps " their leg might hav e b een asleep and unwittingly twitched ;" some, perhaps, struck a light at once—but most took time to con sider. A few children it appears date their rather anticipated appearance on the scene from the earth quake, but most of the phenomena recorded were rooral. One gentleman reports that his wife was awakened first, but kept profoundly still tia the house and bed were shaken. But while she was thus musing the fire kindled, and at last she spake with her tongue, "My debt-, what is it P" The manly voice answered, without any endearing epi thet, " I really cannot imagine what it is, unless it be an earthquake." " The physical effect upon my wife," proceeds the writer (adding in offnand paren thesis, as it strikes him that that lady may read these lines in print " who is really the last person in the world to be alarmed at anything") " was a violent palpitation of the heart, and on myself that of quickening the circulation and increasing per ceptibly and pleasantly the heat of the system." A sort of scientific glow, in short, pissed through him. After giving these invaluable scientific data, this charming writer thinks the phenomenon may be referred to electrical currents " above the ground, or subterranean, or both ;" but would " be happy to know what the wise and learned in such cases have to say upon the facts stated." Probably it would be, that a British interior, moral and physi cal, suddenly unroofed at midnight even by a phe nomenon which adds a "pleasant stimulus to the heat of the system," is apt to discover among those white-robed horizontal forms, reluctantly vigilant, one of the foolishest spectacles that human imagi nation can conceive. SATURDAY REVIEW.—We can scarcely expect, in the present state of the public mind, that the popu lar view of the recent earthquake will be very dif ferent from what it would have been in the dark ages. The great public instructors may congratulate themselves on the spread of intellectual light, and on the march of mind, and may contrast the abject superstition of the past with that calm philosophical estinaate of material phe nomena which we are told is the characteristic of our own times. It is to be feared that much of our light is only borrowed, and is but a sham reflection ; and with the awkward facts of experience which so often occur, it may be doubted whether, as far as the gene ral intelligence goes, any very remarkable advance has been made. The difference between our credulity and that of past centuries is this — thatcredulity then took a respectable form, whe reas now i t is disrepu table. It was a virtue, and it in c l u d e d a pious an d reverential . feeling ; now, it i s a s i n concealed, and consequently cherished. It was a religion—it is a superstition. Bat it exists nevertheless. Whole vil lages—with schools, and clergy, and railways, and electric telegraphs--believe i n w it c h craft, an d ac t on their beli▪ ef. Spiritualism has its professors and its organs. The trade of a soothsayer is profita b le, an d magical books are a lucrative literature. In their heart of hearts there are tens and hundreds of thou sands who will connect the rare occurrence of an earthquake in Engl an d w i th some s i gn ifi cance , mora l, spiritual, or politi ca l. Earthquakes i n countries o f active volcanic agency a re as muc h a matter of course as is a vi▪ olent and exceptional tempest among our selves. The people of Central America or Calabria or the Philippines no more think of investing an earthquake with any supernatural meaning than we should think of reading Divine wrath in a specially destructive storm. B u t lit era t ure grew up in coun tries where earthquakes were rare, and they have consequently connected t hernselves, in an exceptional way, with religious feelings. There are those who probably thi n k, w i t h out a metaphor, that t h e voice of the Deity is in the thunder; and such may per haps be pardoned for considering an earthquake as a sign of an angry Providence. It is the Scriptural image in which troubles and convulsions of the spiritual world a re d escr ib e d. Wh e n the solid foundations of the round world seem to be shaken the mind may b e a l most par d one d f or thinking that wrath has gone out from the Most High; and even the staid and lofty poet of antiquity, whose whole mind was occupied in a protest against superstition, and against religion itself, admits and apologises for the feelings that the thunderstorm was a stern awakener of conscience, and a remembrancer of the retribution that awaits the tyrant's crime and pub lic wrong. How far Kings and peoples of the pre day are above or below what we have ventured to think is still at the bottom of very many minds among us when they discuss the earthquake of Tuesday morning, it is not for us to sa y. W e s h a ll not inquire whether Foreign Secretaries read the signs in Heaven and Earth. If they had consulted Z idkiel—who will next year sell 100,000 more copies on the strength of another lucky bit—they would have found that that distin gu i s h e d seer, in his " Voices of the Stars for October, 1863," fore told that " from the conjunction of Saturn and M ars earthquakes and storms, both phy s i ca l and political, are likely to occur." To be sure the prophecy was a Rao one, for, as the illustrious Tao-Sze did not specify an English earthquake, there was pretty certain to be an earthquake somewhere in the orbz s nt terraru early in October, and tempests the . at But Equinox form a safe subject for prediction certainly this shaking of the earth and th disturb ance of the political equilibrium are strang ely a d e monish the coin cident. If earthquakes are sent nations as to political . duties and political crimes, the lesson is just now significant . to one young King is mounting a precarious throne, and a new Trans atlantic sceptre has j ust bean manufactured, and offered to the ambition of a cautious yet adventurous ' aspirant. Europe seems to be trembling to its very centre with the rumours of war ; the balance of power is rudely shaken; and fresh political com binations, both for disturbance and stability, are threatened or promised. If earthquakes are the precursors and omens of coming troubles, the poll. tical future is likely enough to fulfil the threaten ing presage. The old women of another generation may perhaps recall, with a shudder of cowering piety, that the great German war or the great Polish war was heralded by the famous English earth quake of October, 1863. For,in its way, this earth quake was, for England, a remarkable one. Al though it occurred at an hour very unfavourable to accurate observation, sufficient facts for the infor mation of the future historian seem to have been ascertained. It remains to be seen whether the shock was the dying wave of a more formidable volcanic concussion at one of the great centres of activity in the far South West ; but, making allow ance for the lack of precision in unscientific observers, there must have been a very considerable disturbance to shake so many people in their beds in the dead of the night. We can scarcely recall an accredited instance of so large and sensible a ter restrial disturbance in our own island. EXAMlNER.—Undeniably the performances of the Galway packets have falsified our dismal anticipa tions, and exceeded all expectations. Not a vessel has been lost, nor in any great distress either in leaving or making a port in the most dangerous part of the exposed west coast of Ireland. The packets, indeed, have not kept time, but as they have arrived at all, it is as ungracious to notice the unpunctuality as to look a gift horse in the month. One most extraordinary circumstance is that people have been found to take their passages in them, and a fact hardly less surprising, and contrary to reasonable expectation too, is that mails are conveyed by them to the number nearly of a score. The Adriatic brought twenty first-class passengers, and mails as many minus one. Now when it is considered that the Scotia which preceded her, had brought no more than 100 mail bags and 121 passengers, first and second class, it must be confessed that the Adriatic has done wonders, circumstances con sidered. And this is not all. The Scotia mad the passage in eight days and a half, and the Adriatic only wanted half a week of equalling the Scotia in speed. Take three days and a half from the Adriatic, or add them to the Scotia, and you have a tie between the two vessels. It is enough to say that in twelve days the Adriatic plodded across the Atlantic on the shortest line be tween land and land. Her news was a little stale to be sure, but better late than never; and what fills us With admiration is the fact that the ships on this line come safe to port, and the time they take about it seems to us a very secondary consideration. The Adriatic was detained 40 hours by an accident to her machinery, and all that can be said of that is it is well it was no worse, the packets on this line being peculiarly subject to derangements, cl 3 ape pears by their time accounts. The correspondent of the limes calls the company unfortunate. We think it fortunate to a me st extraordinary degree in having lost nothing but time, and perhaps money. Such luck was not to be expected by any acquainted with the character of the coast and weather of the west of Ireland, and the most dangerous inlet in that wild storm-beaten region. How long the pitchers will go safely to the well is a question upon which it is not pleasant to speculate, but so long as they do come to hand unbroken we must be too grateful for that fact to notice little deficiencies in time. We have heard it suggested by an Irish gen tleman that the Galway packets, late for the late, should carry the postscripts to the mail letters. It is the same gentleman who asked why the electric telegraph did not carry small parcels. LONDON REVIEW.—M. Tournachon Nadar, le beau Nader as his friends love to call him, the spirituel caricaturist, the frank and jovial laughter loving compagnon, the skilful photographer, whose monster autograph in gold on the wall of his atelier in the Rue St. Lazard strikes the astonished vision of English visitors arriving by the Rouen railway, and whose tall, well•knit frame, blonde chevelure, sparkling grey eyes, and Cromwellian wart upon the left, cheek, point him out to the saunterer on the Boulevards, has gone up into the clouds with thir teen companions, and, what is more important to the lovers of innocent fun et l'esprit Francais le plus malin has—like Astrea after her exile to heaven— redescended to earth. For the last few months all Paris quidnuncs were agog, and their curiosity whetted to a cutting edge over Nadar's giant bal loon. How big was it ? Would it go up ? Would it come down? Would the adventurous aeronauts be killed ? and would Nader exhibit the nouveau spectacle d'un ballon crevd and share the fate of Icarus, furnishing a fresh illustration how quickly sometimes soaring ambition falls prone to earth ? Well, last Sunday the questions were satisfactorily and triumphantly solved. There was a foul monstre in the Champ de Mars. All Paris had turned out to witness the courageous enterprise of the Beau Nadar. The ground was kept by detachments of cavalry and infantry. The charming Princess de la Tour d'Auvergne. who was driving in the Champs Elyeees, inquired the cause of the crowd, and on being informed of it, drove to the field of Mars, and entreated le beau Nader to be permitted to accom pany him and his friends in the aerial trip. Nadar —le beau, le galant homme—vanquished par les beaux yeux de la princesse, gave way. He who had steadily refused to allow his wife to share his perils melted into softness. Frailty, thy name is Nader ! The aerial tourists consisted, besides Nader and the the princess, of MM. de St. Martin, the Prince de Sayn Wittgenstein, Eugene Delessert, Thirion, Robert Mitchell, Adrien Tournachon (Nadar's brother), M. Saint Felix, Piallat, Louis Godard, Jules Godard, and a navigator—fifteen hands in all. At five o'clock the words "Let go" were pro nounced, and the Ballon de Geant arose majesti cally in the air, amid feverish excitement and frantic exclamation. When at a considerable alti tude, Nadar climbed outside and waved his hat to bid farewell. " Brave mar," asked thousands of lips, "serait it son dernier adieu& la terre?' And there was a tightening over the chest, a gasping after breath, a deep-drawn sigh, and a half expressed wish that he had not gone up. As we have been looking curi ously at the balloon while the preparations for the ascent were going on , let us see what its desi g ner and constructor says of it in his programme. The Geant is the largest known in the aerostatic annals. According to the Manuel de l'Airostatier of M. Depuis Delcourt, the monster balloon of Green's, which in 1837 travelled from London to Weiburg, contained no more than 2,500 cubic metres of gas. The cubical capacity of the Flessiles, which was a fire balloon or Mongolfier, and made its ascent at Lyons in 1784, cubed 6,098 metres; whereas the Geant is composed of two balloons superposed for the purpose of obtaining greater solidity (we pre sume, rigidity). The silk is of white taffetas, first quality and identical in texture. Each of the balloons has 118 gores, 45 metres long, which give a circumference of 90 metres. They are wholly sewn by hand, double stitched. A third and smaller balloon is arranged below the first double balloon; it is called a compensator, and its office, having a cubical capacity of 100 metres, is to receive any excess of gas that may exist. The Geant can and ought to carry 9 tons. The total height of the whole reaches to—if it does not exceed—an altitude of 60 metres, 14 more than the height of the towers of Notre Dame. In its construction, 20,000 metres of silk were employed. The car consists of two stages or floors, and is 2.50 metres high by 4 metres wide. It is built of beech and wicker-work, sup ported by twenty cables crossing e ach other on the sides and cables, and attached to the circle from which it depends. It rests also on two axles and four wheels, which are capable of being adjusted after a descent. It is furnished, moreover, with buffers inside, and others of air, caoutehouc bags in a girdle on the outside, to lesan shocks. The ground-floor contains central passages en croix, and six divisions. At ono end is the esaptain's cabin, with a bed 75 centimetres wide, and underneath is a compartment for luggage. At the othm• end is the passengers' cabin, containing three beds superposed, each 60 centimetres wide-10 less than the cap tain's bed; but then Nadar aiinait he prendiv son aise au lit. Four divisions are appro pe i a e e ed to washing and toilette, to store for provisions,, to photography and printing. VIM/ [ADVERTISEMENT.] —Holloway's Fills.—Mothers and daughters —How many suffer from disease, for which, through bashfulness, no relief is sought, till their strength of constitution is sapped I The headache, deranged diges tion, and dull pains in the back and loins, attendant on these maladies, may be safely and permanently cured, if the sys tem be regulated by these celebrated pills. All diseases affecting tine lower bowels, which are so troublesome and so weakening, may thus be cured without consultation and without vexing explanations. The pills are equally suitale to the young, the middle-aged, and the old—at all ages, and in any climate. Full instructions for their use accom pany each packet of these medicaments. [ADVERTISEIVIENT.J—COIISUMptiOn, all nervous, bilious, liver, and stomach complaints, in every stage, are only ag gravated and accelerated by drugs of every description, but perfectly curable by Du Barry's health restoring Revalenta Arabica Food, as proved by thousands of cases which bad been considered hopeless. We quote a few.—Cure No. 6 2,914. perfectly Miss Lange, 18 years of age, cured after the medical men had abandoned all hopes of her recovery from the last stage o f pulmonary consumption, with fearful cough, expectorati exhaustion, spitting of blood, perspirations, hollow cheeks, s ,Csu ß pri o et b ,ti e N r ocr ts, of emaciated to a skeleton. She is now, thank co . (1 47 , a is 12:irraey n j l e u s a n s l e s healthy, blooming, fleshy girl.—N. Lange, Comm' ssaire de Police. Cure, ta T yn i No. . e pa4r6as,r2,t7iOa.l diseaseddMe deafness.—Cure, Surrey, of lit, of blood, liver Elizabeth Jacobs, of extreme nervousness, ' * Miss gatherings, low spirits, and nervous fancis indigestion, 54,816. Ile Rev. James T. Campbell, Fake 11* —Cure, No. of indigestion and torpidity of the liver, • n am, Norfolk, all menical treatment. In tins, 11b, 2s .svlnch had resisted 118; 121 b, 225; 241 b, 40s. Barry du Barry 9d; 21b, 4m 611 ; bib, Regent-street, London ; also Fortnum and and C o . , No. 77, groom and cbeuslftf in every town 01 the Mason; and all Thlitecliil4loora• STEAM RAMS ON THE MERSEY. A considerable amount of gossip and remarks have of late been prevalent in Liverpool and elsewhere relative to two steam rams which have been con structed at the Birkentead Ironworks by Messrs. Laird Brothers. One account stated that the ships in question were being built for the Emperor of China, which averment gave rise to some incredu lous remarks. Another statement was to the effect that the vessels in question were built on French account, and one of them,which was launched a:few weeks ago, named El Tousin, was taken into the Great Float flying the French ensign. Since then she has been moored at the Victoria wharf, in that immense basin, and operations have been steadily prosecuted forthe purpose of fitting her for sea. In consequence of these operations intimation was re. ceived from the Foreign-office —at least, so much is said, and has been acknowledged in high quarters —to the effect that, suspicious of the vessels being intended for the Confederate States of America, they would not be permitted to depart unless satis factory evidence was given that their destination would not form an infringement of the Foreign Enlistment Act. La this state the affair remained till Thursday last, when a ro enue cutter conveyed a Custom-house officer into the Great Float, and put him on board the El Tousin. On Friday this proceeding was followed by the appearance of a second Custom-house officer, who, it is said, put the •' broad arrow" on the vessel, and, it is said, re mained in charge of the ship. About 11 o'clock on Thursday night the Goshawk, under the command of Lieutenant Cheek, acting tan der to her Majesty's ship Majestic, went into the low-water basin, which is not yet cpen for vessels, and remained there on Friday and Saturday. On Saturday morning her Majesty's ship Liverpool dropped from herprevious moorings, and took a position in front of the entrance to the Morpeth dock, with her fires banked, and her steam obviously up. In this condition she lay all day, and general opinion connected with her being in this position a belief that she, as well as the Gos hawk, was in readiness to prevent the apprehended departure of the El Tousin. So far, however, as present appearances warrant the conjecture, this precaution was unnecesary. The suspected vessel remains moored alongside the Victoria wharf, and up to Saturday afternoon did not appear in a condi tion fit for sea. During the whole of the early part of Saturday workmen were busily employed in pro secuting the different processes which would fit her for use. So far as could be observed from the quay —no admission was allowed on board—there was no Government officer in charge of the craft, and every thing appeared to make progress in the usual way. The ship is evidently a powerful vessel. She has, or rather preparations are being made for her to have, two cupola turrets, which are far advanced in construction. Her bulwarks are made to fall down outwardly, and she has two port-holes in the stern, disagreeably suggestive of heavy " stern chasers." Her sides are evidently strong, and ar mour-plated; but by far her most formidable-look ing character is derived from her sullenly projecting prow. As a whole, this formidable-looking craft, which every one professes to regard with something like mystery, and which no one about will admit knowing anything of, is a capital specimen of the shipbuilder's art, and if let loose with a hostile in tent would no doubt prove an ugly customer. COUNTRY MARKETS. ...... ‘.' - - - NORWICH-SATURDAY. There was a fair supply of wheat to-day, and for the best samples full prices were maintained ; other sorts can not be called lower. There was a moderate show of bar ley, and, more money being demanded, business was slow, but sales were at late rates. White wheat. 46s to 47s i Red wheat 43s to 44s Malting barley ...36s to 38s 1 Chevalier barley 36s to 37s Distilling do 33s to 35s i Oats.. Flour, 31s Od to —s Od per sack from the miller. GRANTHAM-SATURDAY. Old white wheat, 42s to 465; red, 40s to 44s per 36st. ; new white, 42s to 455; red, 408 to',42s. Malting barley, 36s to 40s per qr ; grinding, ;30s to 328; oats, old, 288 t 3 30s; new, 20s to 24s ; beans, 40s to 428; peas, 36s to 388. NORTHAMPTON-SATURDAY. An average supply of wheat to-day, but the show mostly of the new sorts. Buyers operated to a moderate extent. For choice qualities late rates may be quoted, but other sorts rather lower. Oats, beans, peas, and barley all dull. —White wheat, 40s to 455; red, 37s to 425; fine, —s to —s per qr. Barley, 35s to 39s—grinding, 28s to 30s; Oats, 28s to 32s per 24 stone. Beans, 38s to 41. Peas, 34s to 40s per qr. LEICESTER-SATURDAY. We were moderately supplied with new wheat to-day, but old sorts again limited. Barley in good show, but dull. —New white wheat, 44s to 46s ; red, 42s to 44s per 36 stone. Old red; 42s to 44s per 36 stone. Barley, malting, new, 36s to 38s per qr.; grinding, 29s to 32s ; old oats, 25s to 30s; new oats, 22s to 25s per 24 stone. Beans, old, 38s to 42s per 38 stone ; flour, 30s to 35s per 20 stone. YORK-SATURDAY. The supply of wheat at market to-day was moderate, and not a large attendance of the trade. The best sorts were purchased readily, at late prices ; inferior a shade easier. Barley in fair show, but the demand was slow at lower raes. Oats also inactive, and beans steady. Wheat, red 38s to 42s Oat 5.... White do 42sto 45s Beans 38, to 40s Barley .30s to 32s Peas to —s Malt, 628 to 64s per,qr.; to 32s per sack. 'e, 32s per qr.; flour, 30a NOTTINGHAM-SATURDAY. There was a good quantity of wheat today from the growers. The demand ruled fair, and prices unaltered. —White wheat, from 41s to 45s ; red wheat, 39s to 425. Barley—malting, 33s ,to 40s ; grinding, 28s to 31s. Oats old, at 24s to 31s Od; new, 22s to 265. Beans sold at 38s to 435 per qr. ; new, 38s to 425. Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUE. Australia and Mauritius, via Southampton. Oct. 19. via Marseilles .. Oct. 13. ,3razil and Cape Verds, by British packet Nov. 4. Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena Oct. 29. China, Penang, and Singapore, via Southampton Oct. 19. via Marseilles Oat. 13. Falkland Islands Gibraltar, via Southampton Oct. 16. India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton Oct. 27. via Marseilles Oct. 13. India (Bombay), via Southampton Oct. 18. via Marseilles Oct. 21. Portugal.... Nov. 4. Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton Oct. 19. via Marseilles Oct. 25. Newfoundland Oporto and Vigo tr. S. and British N. America, by Brit. packet.... Oct. 16, by U.S. packet by Canadian packet Oct. 17. W.C. of Africa, Madeira, and Teneriffe ..Nov. 10. Bahamas, via New York Oet. 22. Mexico.. Oct. 29. All parts of West Indi es , including Chili, Peru, California. and Briti s h C o l um bi a. . j Oct. 14. A GRAND MASS, by a youth, Mr. Perry, aged 16, which will shortly be performed for the benefit of the Poles, in Paris, is spoken of as of remarkable promise, its writer's age considered. Full benefit of reduced duty obtained by pur chasing Horniman's pure Tea; very choice at 3s. 4d. and 4s. " Hi g h Standard "at 4s. 4d. (formerly 4s. Bd.), is the strongest and most delicious imported. Agents in every town s upply it in packets. Births. Durr.—On the 9th inst., at Queen's-gate-gardens, the wife of M. Grant Duff, Esq., M.P., of a son . FizzßuY.-09. the 9th inst., at 23, Grosvenor-street, the Lady Frederick Fitzßoy, of a daughter, stillborn. N'icuoLsorr.-0n the 7th i nst., at The Cedars, Sunder la nd, the wife of William Nicholson, jun., EPq., of a SOD,. Marriages. DANIELT,--DAVEY.—At the parish church, Bures, Edwd. Drunden Hall, Essex, to Fanny Eliza. second daughter of the late Geo, Davey, Esq,, Sawyers, Bures St. Nary, SuJolk. WADE_LADKIN .--At St. George's, Hanover-square, Geo. Wade, Esq. o f .'T'reat Sarratt Hall, Hertford s hi re , t o Elizabeth Elm= Isdkin, of Lutterworth, Leicestershire. Deaths. CONYERS.—On the Sth inst., at Elmswell, Edmund Dame Conyers, Esq., Coroner for Yorkshire, aged 66. CAMPBELL.—On the Bth inst., at Edinburgh, William Campbell, W.S. DARLING.—On the Bth inst., at Strote House, near Chep stow, General William Lindsay Darling, Colonel of the 98th Itegt. O'GRADY.—On the Bth inst., Carew Louis, Captain R.E., younger son of Admiral O'Grady, of Erinagh Rouse, Limerick, aged,2B. SMITH,—on the Bth inst., at Lewisham, Mr. Benjamin Tnomns.—On the 7th in s t., a t D ro it w itch, Itobt. Hughes TBmhoitmh; aged 74. Thomas, Esq., late of Bombay, aged 53, London: Prini:ed and Fublished by WILLIAM ANDREWS, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at THE SUN Office No. 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the c9uuty Of biLitliceex— October 12 ' lE63'