The Sun. — London, England, 1851-05-23 00:00:00

GERMANY SHIP LAUNCH AT ST. PETER'S. A beautiful first-class vessel, intended for the Indian passenger trade, was launched on Thursday last from the building yard of Messrs. T. and W. Smith, at St. Peter's quay, near this town. The day was most pro pitious, and a vast crowd assembled to witness the in teresting proceedings. Although not so large as some of her predecessors, yet for beauty of model and warlike bu a ppearance, she surpasses them all; she is frigate ilt, being bored for 32 guns, with her timber and fastenings all adapted for warlike service, should it be required to change her peaceful occupation. Her di mensions are —Extreme length, 197 feet 4 inches ; gun deck, 171 feet ; breadth, 38 feet 4 inches. The Hot spur, for such is the memo this excellent and splendid vessel now bears, forms the thirteenth in the list of the splendid vessels built by, and under the ownership of the same firm, in the order under-men tioned :—Kestrel, 450 tons; Ostrich, 500 tons ; Pekin, 600 tons ; Colombo, 700 tons ; Duke of Argyle, 800 tons; Plantagenet, 850 tons; Bucephalus, 1,050 tons; Ellenborongh, 1,100 tons; Gioriana, 1,000 tons; Tudor, 1,150 tons; Marlooroug'n, 1,400 tons; Blenheim, 1,500 tons; Hotspur, 1,142 tons. The two first of these, with other small but well-known Indiainen, which have cee, ,, ed to be the pr)perty of Messrs. Smith, were built at North Shields. The remainder, of which the Hotspur was the last, were built at St. Peter's. The keel of the Hotspur was laid down in July, 1848, immediately after the launch u the Blenheim, and care has been tak..n that in the seasoning of the timber, the run of her lines, and her interior fittings should entitle her to the claim of being one of the best specimens of naval ar chitecture that has:been constructed in the dockyards of the Tyne. Before the vessel left the stocks the public were afforded an opportunity of inspecting her, and hundreds availed themselves of the privilege so kindly and con side-ately gran.ed by the Messrs. Smith. About half pfiet four o'clock, the tide being then at its highest, the shipwrights began to drive the wedges, so as to ease the blocks, which were then speedily removed. The last remaining support having been knocked away, the noble vessel rested for a moment on its slippery way to undergo the christening ceremony, which was admirably performed by the lady of Captain Joseph Toynbee, the commander, breaking the brandy bottle across the bows, and then she glided away majes tically into the aqueous element, amidst the firing of cannon, and the cheers of an immense concourse of spectators. A platform was erected in the dockyard for a select company of ladies and gentlemen, who after the ceremony partook of refreshments provided for the oc casion; and throughout the afternoon, which was re markably fine, Messrs. Hawks and Crawshay's band pLyed a number of popular airs. It is intended to rig the Hotspur with all possible dispatch, so that she may in Jaly next depart from Gravesend ou her first voyage to Indis.—Newcastle 'Journal. ----- TRANSPORTATION TO VAN DIEMEN'S L A AIL The following is a copy of a petition to Parliament on this subject:— The humble petition of the undersigned merchants, trad ing with the British coleny of Van Dit•anen's Laud, and others coenected with the said colony, Respectfully sheweth— That the colon) of Van Diemen's Land having, in the year 1840, been made the sole receptacle of convicts sentenced to transportation, a most fearful state of things was engendered in the said colony, to the great dismay of the colonists, and the scandal of the nation at large; and that it wee accerdinaly determi ne d, d ur i ng the ad ministration of th e late fS . 'ir Robert Peel, to establish a new aatlemcnt in Northern Australia for the reception of effsnders. _ That the ad m i n i strat i on which followed Sir Robert Peel's resolved to arrest the formation of the settlement of Neth eauatralia, and to suspend the transportation of convicts to' Van Diemen's Land for two years; and afterwards, apparently on profound reflection, they de termined eabolish transportation altogether to V Die , en's Land, and to th a e d d opt . a syste:nof secondary n punishment, of whiec,hfrenderi.stiinnguishing features were the punishreeet of penitentiaries in thi s wide country, and th e i r subsequent dispersion through various colonies of the ems ire. That her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the C olonies accordingly advi sedthoLi,. nt- Governor of Van Die m( n's Lard, on th e s t h of Fetebrnuaay, 184.7, that it was not intended to revive transportati r on , t, that colony at the expiration of the two years for which it had been decided that, it should be discontinued; and that the Lieutenant•Gorernor announced this in struction to the Legislative Council of the colony in the following words : " I take the earliest opportunity of bringing before you the decision of her ftlejesta '3 Government, that transportation to Van Diemen's Land shall not be re sumed at the expiration of the two years for which it has already been decided that it is to be discontinued. lier Majesty's Government, in coming to this determi nation, have acted in accordance with the expressed hes of a l arge proportion of the free inhabitants of the colony." And. fures tt, . erraore that the said Li eu t enan t-G overnor, " tar 20. h of AugUst, 1847, i n a di spatc h to t h e Secre the ry , re v i 6 .. State, w arned her Maje s ty' s G overnment aga i nst in th ese v:lnrodtstransportation t o t h e co l ony i n any form, " -trans A bs her Majesty's G overnment have decided that has porteenation i r !' to cease, an d as that decision put.)l Ido not lelY made known in the colon that it wou ld b e possiblye, C OnSide or desirable, to i n my dispatch, c ailr out the suggestions contained bey s e fullyportion of the e onicaa ',.2 it 83 . The feelings of a large position which has enlisted iu the op how raised t to the convicts ystem here, that any attempt up,o,nrevive the system, in any form, would be looked no by them as a breach of faith, and would cause, I hav e tility which would be very embloti t, feelings of hos- i amassing to the Govern- ment." That, in the year 1848, her aaaj„ tv , 4 Government, continue notwithstanding its promises,resalyed to have' and 'transportation of convicts to Van Diem en ' s Land • the that the great body of transported offendere sent to the said colony ever since. That, between the year 1840 and the present tim petitioners have heard and believe that no less thaen, .30,000 convicts have been sent to Van Diemen's L am; p that upw ar d s o f 12 , 000 f re e people have, inco nsequence, been driven forth from the colony, to seek hom es and employment eleewhere; and that, by the census of the 00100 y, taken in 1848, it would appear that three-fourths of the adult population were, or had been, convicts —a Proportion which, it is believed, has since increased. ~ e, this revival - That the col on i sts are in a state o f th e u t mos t discon xeta al' trans p , -• ortation, in the face of the Pledges Of herher N bl i ajesty's Government, ‘ . as solemnly an noneeed a y and clergy, the ajesty's representative. That . bishop . members of the ministers of various denominations, rents, and than aislature, magistrates, merchants, p guar children, and I the respectable free or. behalf' of their , stations, have over People generally, of all ranks and ) over, le various petitions to her i Majesty the queen, a n d a cr your Honourable moettiLeards Spiritual and Temporal, credible wrongs done to the , prayed relief against the in portation of criminals to vaTnbic,37 the continued trans ijien's Land, and that , the pledges of her Majesty', overnment should at I lenevh be honourably fulfilled. 1,1)3t, finally', the women of the colon h dresstd her most gracious Ma j e sty the (Yileaeve lately ad to her eympstbies bas a mother as Well iis .1), sovereign appealing the of a great etniei; e. That, neverehelese, her Majesty's GOYbrnMeUt still persist in sending large numbers of convicts, to Cho ' said celony. That, unhappil y , a feeling of hostility to the free colo- Lists seems t o b e ar i s i ng i n the mind s o f some of the cenvict classes i u t h e sa id co l on y ; who, f a l se l y, no doubt, Gov ern ; went, cert a i n statemen t s o f her Majesty's arover ns went, appear to regard the colony as theirs, and th e free colonists as intruders. That, with the discontent of the colonists on the one hand at what, in the language of their governor, they moat inevitably regard as a breach of faith, and the 4waiik , sp9ratlon of the convict clasasa on the other, your petitt4uera entertain the most serious epprellenii°l23 that ' There was a dangerous flood at Vienna on the 13th, which destroyed all the bridges but one. Eight hundred copies of the supplement to the Allgemeine Zeitung have been seized by the police in Munich, and confiscated. The authorities acted on instructions sent from Stuttgard by telegraph, and were waiting for the packages, of whose contents they were quite aware before they arrived. It is stated that the zeal of the police has on this occasion, for the first time, been rebuked by a high personage, without whose knowledge the seizure was made, and who was thereby deprived of his usual morning paper. The cause of the confiscation is not given. In Wiesbaden the police are also busy, but as re formers of the bad manners that have been introduced since the revolution. A custom has grown up of wearing the hat in the pit of the theatre in the pauses between the acts, especially by the visitors from mayence, who a re l os i ng much of their German formality in trifl4s. On two occasions the offenders have been officially called to order, and warned of the breach of decorum. The Treasury of Baden has brought a formal ac tion against the widow of Bii'lning, one of the leaders of the insurrection, executed in 1849, to recover inz a sum of sever a l m illi ons of gulden,with of one milli on, as the amount of the damag a e sustained by the Treasury of the Duchy during the revolt. That the widow can pay any part of it is out of the question. The Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung has the follow ing paragraph, probably one of the last that will ap pear, on the Dresden Conferences : " After their formal close they will be forgotten as a total failure, an d the re-organization of Germany will immediately be discussed at Warsaw by the Monarchs in person, and the Presidents of their respective Ca binets. All the agitation, labour, and exchange of notes has only led to the recognition of the old Constitution and the old Diet as the basis and body of the political system. The reforms, improvements, and innovations lie still veiled in the deepest obscurity of the future, and will first become visible in the second half of the present month. Perhaps conditions may be made in 'Warsaw that may favour one State at the cost of another; now is the right moment for Prussia to beware, lest under the appearance of an increase of power over the small States it is not itself placed in the rank of secondary powers." SERVIA. A misunderstanding is said to have a r i sen b etween the Porte and the Servian Government. Th e P orte as serts that the insurrection in Turkish Croatia has been aided and abetted by Servia. DEATH OF AN INDIAN CHIEF. Da-o-ne ho-ga-weh, a Chief of the S?necas, died at Tonawanda, in this state, on Friday of last week. This chief was generally known among the whites by the name of John Blacksmith. He was a most determined and fearless defender of the rights of his brethren against the encroachments of the " pale faces," and his name may be found to several important treaties at Wash ington. He was always a zealous opponent of the land speculators, and frequently came in contact with them in eourts of justice, and we believe on one or two occa sions actually forced some of them to leave the Indian territory. Ho was strictly temperate in his habits, and was regarded by the Six Nations as their greatest chief since tho death of Red Jacket. According to the customs of the red men, a runner was dispatched to the Six Nations, consisting of the Oneidas, Onon dagas, Tuscaroras, Mohawks, Cayugas, and Senecas, with intelligence of the death of their great chief. The runner to the Onondaga nation passed through this city on Monday last, and on approaching the Council -house of the Onondagas raised the cry of lament, which was understood by the tribe, who hap pened to be assembled in the Council-house at the time. A messenger was dispatched to meet the runner, who was still some distance from the Council-house. ()n meeting the runner, the Onondaga (who understood, from the peculiar cry, that he was the bearer of bad news) addressed a faw words to him in the Indian dialect, of which the following is said to be a eirrect translation:—" Let it come forth, that our minds may also drop down." The sad noses was then communicated to the Onondaga, and the two preueded to the Council-house, where a large number of the natives were assembled, and all the particulars of the sad intelligence communicated to them by the runner. A string of black beads (the token of the death of a great chief), which is always carried by the bearer of the mournful news, was then passed from hand to hand round the council, and other tokens of mourning were exhibited. The occasion was of great interest, as the chief whose death they were called on to lament was universally beloved and esteemed by the Six Nations over whom he exercised authority. We learn that his place will bo filled next fall, when the Onondagas are entitled to officiate at the ceremony of crowning the new chief. We learn, also, that on Mon day ne x t a chief of the Onondag as will be crowned at their Council -house in the place of one who died in March last.—Onondaya Standard. CITY SEIVER:S COMMISSION. On Tuesday a Court was held, Deputy Peacock in the chair. In answer to an inquiry from one of the Commis sioners, it was stated by the surveyor, Mr. Haywood, that he (the surveyor) did not consider that the wood pavement in Bartholomew-lane and Lothbury was at all dangerous. The report of the inspector for the district was then read, on which Mr. MORTIMER, the inspector, stated that the wood pavement in Bartholomew-lane and Lothbury had been altered, repaved, and made gool, and that by that day it had been finished by the patentee, Mr. Carey, of Great Guildford -street, Southwark. The work, it was stated, had been completed within fourteen days from its com mencement. The former blocks have been laid within tea years ago by the patentee. Several personal applications were then heard. APPOINTMENT OF AN ASSISTANT CLERK TO THE COM. SIONERS. In answe r to a reference made by the court to the General Purposes Committee a short time since, it wces reported by the chiet clerk that six persona had been se lected as fit to perform the duties. The following are their names:—Mr. William Jolly, of Mr. Temple's office, Guildhall; Mr. Josiah Crook, son of the contractor for the sewers; Mr. H. Blake, son of one of the commis sioners of sewers; Mr. Pearson, nephew of the city so licitor; Mr. Crawford, and Mr. Richmond. On the motion of Deputy HARRISON, Mr. Crook's son was declared to be ineligible, he being the son of a con tractor to the Commissioners. Exception was also taken to Mr. Blake's son and to Mr. Pearson, the former being the clerk to a member of the Court, and the latter being the nephew of the City Solicitor. Both these propositions were, however, overruled, and the names allowed to be retained. Mr. 11. L. TAYLOR then moved a resolution, of which due notice had been given, to the effect that the election of an Assistant-Clerk be postponed until inquiries had been made into the necessity for such a step being taken, and whether the Assistant-Clerk was likely again to be fit to perform his duties. If he did so, he (Mr. Taylor) thought such an appointment unnecessary. After a long discussion, the CHAIRMAN said there was no doubt that the Assistant-Clerk was convalescent, and that they had better agree to adjourn the appointment of an Assistant. —Agreed to. —Adjourned. - - - SEABORNE MAILS. b .,,,[ L ?T,_ a signifies that the mail s are sent frora the General Post-offee e night---ana Mby the morning , ' ........ ... vu 6. -- 4.,,, the ---.. In oy the morning-dispatch.] -a P LACES. When made up in From what , General Post-office/ port dis- When )11.. ---__ ___ I _ London. patched. due. he America (by B 1 .., America (by tr rit P k t) ll MaY 23 .13- America (b .S. .. Liverpool • • May 27, ytr s . ...ay 27 OP Africa 017,4 .; • Pkt.) st June „ . .. ,Liverpool - ast ,.. , ne 4 .. .. (Southampt, May 29 Belgium .. ••• Isr 1 9th & 3 Dkt.) N. ~..- • • is, Alexandria* ...., 2 , 4 lath of • the month Plymouth June 3 a " I Brazil .. . •• N b all Y.. Oth of mo. Dover .. May 28 .... 14i 9th of the month •Southampt.- Daily . Dover id I Buenos Ayres .: June 12 id I California(via Chagres)3L 9 l tl L °f the month Southampt. June 12 , r I Cape of Good Hope is.l l4 ii i • Of monthh Southern tIA • , Constantinople* .. •• N 7th I'7'l'll°27°,4h" plyinout. ) . .. j (Arrived Southampt. Jun y e 5 I) Central America .. 31 2d & 1 7 , j i -,•• of nao Dover •• M un a ' 3 3 0 Channel Isles • • .. N Mon.. Wed ° , r k e k - e • . Chili .. .. .. .31 17th of the . r ac , I * .. .. .. N 7th 17th 27th ef tu o 11olialid .. • • .. llonduras .. • • • Dover • • F Southampt. T. Th. 4 P.. Tues. Sat. & N Twice daily .. .. n ot at. Arri Ted ~ France .. .. M &3NNTT7wthednicoeasfdiaih&leyms..;;;;lsilouounttdhhoo:nn .t . . A u rr: R i . v T e h d - cr a ' Greece Twicedail llamburgh .. .. N Tuesday & Friday Londe • • May 30 Y i Ireland .. - M -• Yhea4 .. Twi India (via Scuthamp.) M 20th of the month!Southanapt. ,m. ee dallY India (via Marseilles) N 7th! 24th ofmonthlDover I -3 ' 23 Mediterranean (via •• June 2 Southampton) .. 31 20th of the month Southampt. May ~,, Mediterranean (via Marseilles) .. .. N 7th& 24th of month Dover .. ,i,,,,, 2 Mexico .. .. -M2d of the month.. 'Southampt. June 5 Madeira ......319th of the month Southampt. June 12 Malta* • • •• Nr I 7th,l7th 1901,27 th - j & 30th o ' f month }Dover May 28 2 '- r l aPle* * - .. .. N sth 15th 25th of MO,DOVer • • (May 22 :aPal States* .. .. Nisth 15th 25th ofmolDover .. flay 22 i. e rn ninsTi lar • • • • .. 317th 17th 27th of mo I Southampt. May 24 Tu s e 7„,*; • • • • • • 31 17th of the month (Southampt. Arrived Ivest - 1,-,'",: i " • • • • N sth 15th 25th °lmo Dover .. , May 22 West Indies-f-i • • - M 17th of the month Southampt. /Arrived is fe a torann& , zcept a Nassau) 31,2 d of the month .. Southampt. !June 5 The m a n s trench Packet to those countries th us mar k e d (*) ass convey al L 7 CATapoi, ' 'Li._ a MaraelllC3. 1 ,,,"_ , SiO Epr de§' 'Eat• ~,, Lo and s 4 from California, trt:-/ the Meted Elate 1 ***% 4114 u ervory Americal44o. - - ---------_, BRITISH LADIES' FEMALE EMIGRANT SOCIEI I; On Wednesday the second annual meeting of this so ciety was held at the Hanover -square Rooms; the Earl of Harrowby in the chair. rtte that i ttgs a,meetinglot thosefs future fror a was emigrantsasc thiso m a e a r communities, in twti of eroys u, t t he e d i i n s c ta r n ea t The CHAIRM AN , i n opening the proceedings, said s i c n o g l o n e i fil e s ti , l and ld p 0 s Constitutef n t t u h r e o pa- em pires. It was true that some abuses had occurred upon the passage outwards ; but the object of this society was to protect the female passengers from insult ing danger. This was done by the selection of religious and moral matrons, who were generally appointed by the Government, and by providing the female emigrants with suitable employment on the voyage. The society required support and sympathy, the more particularly at present, when emigration was greatly upon the increase. It appeared, from the report, that the society had from its commencement proposed to itself four objects:— " 1. To establish homes for the reception of the female emigrants, where they may be instructed and prepared, prior to their leaving their netive country. 2. To pro vide visitation at the ports, where the emigrants are formed into industrial classes, and supplied with means for their instruction and employment during the voyage, through the agency of the visiting committees. 3. To secure the appointment of judicious and efficient matrons for the superintendence of the young women on the voyage, through the agency of the matrons' committee. 4. To form corresponding societies in the colonies for the protection and assistance of the female immigrants on their arrival. " Daring the past year twelve matrons have been ac cepted by her Majesty's Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners, and five by the Committee of the Female Emigration Fund, on the recommendation of the matrons' committee. From many of these letters have been re ceived, and others may be now daily expected. The com mittee are anxious to have a supply of matrons in readiness, that they may have leisure to prepare for their duties before they sail. Such matrons as are approved by the committee, while waiting their appointment, meet the secretary weekly, to go through a course of religious reading, such as they will find useful with the female emigrants, and also to arrange the needlework which will be committed to their charge during the voyage. " The following briefly shows the state of the finances for the present year:—From April, 1850, to April, 1831--Total receipts by annual subscriptions, 308/. 4s. 2d.; donations, 360/. 14s. 6d.; collections, 621. 55.; ba lance remaining from last year, 405/. 19s. 4d. Total, A 1,1371. 3s. Expenditure, 2 8111. 12s. 6d. B a l ance i n b and, pril, 1851, 5/. 10 ;. 10:1." The report was adopted, and after the passing of reso lutions in favour of continued support being extended to the society, the meeting separated. calamities may arise in the said colony which your Honourable House will ever deplore. 1 That the wrongs inflicted on the said colony have iI aroused the sympathies of all the neighbouring colonies, and the whole of Southern and Eastern Australia is agitated on the subject of transportation; while in Van Diemen's Land leagues have been entered into among the colonists not to employ convicts arriving after a cer tain day of the last year; at the same time petitioners have heard and believe, that among the convicts active efforts are b e i ng made, on every homestead, to intimi date and drive away any free labourers employed by the colonists. That, in this alarming state of things, your petitioners, as deeply concerned in the well-being of the colony of Van Diemen's Land, humbly, but confidently submit to your Honourabl e H ouse , t h at every consideration of jus tice and good f a i t h , re li g i on an d mora lity, as well as of good poli c y, requ i res that h ence f or th no more convicts be sent t o t h e sa id eo l ony; an d t h ey submit that it wooll be grie vous i n d ee d if t h e f u t ure nations of Australia should date their alienation from this country from such a cause as their compulsory contamination by the parent state. INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. On Tuesday, May 20 (Wm. Cubitt, Esq., President, in the chair), the paper read was "On the Isthmus of Suez, and the ancient Canals of Egypt," by Mr. Joseph Glynn, M. Inst. C.E. The author's attention had been directed to this subject when the best route to India was under discussion, and that by the River Euphrates to the Persian Gulf was contended for, as offering advan tages superior to the one now so successfully adopted through Egypt anal by the Red Sea. The possibility of the restoration of the ancient canals in the Desert, na• turally formed part of the consideration of the practi iclhityshootifldea6dtm'bil c w a h b i t is o h f in t g a he passage communication oflarge ve b s y sels w f a r t o e m r, sea to sea. It appeared that about six hundred years before the Christian era, Darius (Hystaspis) completed a canal from the Nile, a little above Bubastes, to the Red Sea, near to Patumos; this canal, which in some places was nearly 150 feet wide and 30 feet in depth, passed through the valley to the Bitter Lakes, and was navi gable for vessels of considerable burden, only whilst the Nile was high, as it was filled from that source, and that it served by its branches for the purposes of irriga tion and fur the supply of fresh water to several impor tant cities. The ancients assumed that there existed a difference of level between the waters of the Mediter ranean and those of the Red Sea, and precautions vv, re taken to prevent inundations, as for avoiding any mix ture of sea water with that from the Nile. Toffs canal, after falling into decry, was restored about the year 644 of the Christian Era, by the Caliph Omar, who introduced many improvements and changed its junction with the Nile to a spot near Cairo, which had the effect of keeping the navigation open for a longer period during each year. The gradual decadence of Egypt, however, induced the degradation even of this great work, so that after about one hundred and twenty years the channel became choked up, and for above 1,000 years it remained neglected and almost forgotten, until during the French expedition, when Napoleon, who could always find leisure for encouraging the arts of peace, and promoting the interests of sience, directed a complete survey to be made by Monsieur Le Pere, an engineer of eminence, whose report and survey and estimate for construction, with a line of levels from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, were published in De non's " Description de l'Egypt." It was proposed to follow nearly the old line of canal, dividing the length into four sections, at such levels as should enable the navigation to continue open for nearly eight months each year. The entire cost was esti mated at about twelve hundred thousand pounds sterling. The direct distance from the northren extremity of the Red Sea to the Mediterranean being about seventy five miles, the length of canal would be about ninety three miles, through a low barren sandy plain, offering no obstacles to the speedy execution of any engineering work, and traversing many lagoons and lakes, the level of whose bottoms was stated by the French engineers to be from 20 feet to 54 feet below high water mark in the Red Sea, at Suez. The mean rise of the tide in the Red Sea was found by M. Le Pere to be about 53- feet to 6 feet, and that in the Mediterranean about 1 foot. The surface of the for mer at high water being stated to be about 32i feet (English) above low water at Tyneh in the latter. The various points of elevation above the Mediterra• nean would be thus:— High water at Suez ... Low water at Suez ... Mean difference ... ••• Extreme rise of the Nile at Cairo, in ordinary seasons ... • ••• 39 i 19 If Lowest point of the Nile at Cairo, in ordinary seasons ... •.• 16 a Mean difference • ... ••• ••• ••• 27 1 ~ Consequently, th e Nil e , d ur i ng a the height o f the inun• dation, at Cai r o, wou ld b o 9 feet above high water level, and 14 feet above low water level at Suez. M. Prony, M. Michel Chevalier, and Colonel Chesney, considered the construction of a canal practicable, in a country where no physical impediments existed, and where labour could be obtained, perhaps, at a cheaper rate than in any other part of the world. In the discu,sion which ensued, in which Mr. R. Ste phenson, M.P., Colonel Hamilton Smith, Mr. Ayrion, Mr. Greaves, and the author of the paper took part, it was shown from recent careful levellings and personal examination, that the levels of low water in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean were identical, and, theie• fore, that the project of M. Le Fire, being based on a presumed difference of upwards of thirty feet between the seas, was not feasible; but that the error in the levels might be accounted for by the fact of the work being executed during a period of war of the meat harassing description. It appeared, that the ridge now existing at the end 'of the Red Sea, towards the Bitter Lakes. consisted of ter tiary strata, the fossils of which were identical with those of the London Basin and the Hill of Montmartre (Paris), and that it had no doubt resulted from a geologi cal upheaval which had materially changed the features of the district. If this position were correct, there was little doubt, that originally the Bitter Lakes formed the head of the Red Sea, and the Ruins of Serapeuin, and of other extensive towns around, indicated that the district ha,l, at at a remote epoch, possessed great fer tility, being irrigated by the Canal of Sesostris, by which Lake Temsah was supplied with fresh water ; in fact, that at that period it was undoubtedly a fertile, beautiful region, and really " Goshen," the " Land of Promise." 'This interesting discussion terminated the business meeting of this part of the session, which was announced to be resumed on the second Tuesday in November. AMENT, Your petitioners therefore humbly p ray t h at your Honourable House, taking the p rem i ses into serious consideration, will adopt such steps as to your Honourable House may seem merit, a t once to arrest the lumber transportation of offenders to the colony of Van Diemen's Land. London, May, 1851. ... 30i feet, French, ... 25 /I ;. 27i „ „ THE COUNTRY MARKETS. DERBY SMITHFIELD MARKET, MAY '2o.—The number of fat beasts to-day was larger than that of last week, and the quality was generally good; the supply from the north was large of bullocks and heifers. The supply of sheep and lambs was large. Fat and store calves were considerably less in number than they have been for the last two months. Beef, 5d to sid ; mutton (out of the wool), 5d to 51d ; lamb, 7d to Od ; veal, -lid to 5d per lb ; pigs, 7s to Os Od per score. Rough fat, 3s 6d per stone of 141bs. Hides, ILd to 2d per lb ; calf skins 2d to 4d per lb. UPPINGHAM, MAY 21.—Wheat 36s to 41s; barley 23s to 25s Od ; oats 20s to 25s ; beans 29s to 325 per quarter. Butter 7d to 7,1 d per lb ; eggs 25 for is. BOSTON, MAY 21.—Wheat, red 27s to 38s Od, white 37s to 40s, extra 42s to 00s ; barley 22s to 25s ; oats 17s to 225; beans 27s to 32s ; peas 001 to (Os per quarter. NEWARK, MAY 21.—Wheat, white 40s to 465, red 38s to 425; barley, malting 23s to 255, grinding 20s to 21a ; oats, seecl, 23s to 265, feed Otis to 00s; beans, 32s to 345; tares 36s o 40s; malt, 48s to 52s per qr. LYNN, MAY 20.—Wheat 30s to 365, fine 38s 40s to 42 ; barley OOs to 00s, fine OOs; oats OOs to 00s, fine OOs to 0011; beans Os to 1 - s, fine Os to O s p er qr . LOUTH, MAY 21.—Wheat 34s to 395; barley 21s to 2431; oats 14s to 16s ; b eans 22 s to 2 6s per qr. MELTON illowanay, MAY 20 . —Wheat, :383 Od to 4431; barley 2 5 to 26s ; oats 2os to 243 ; beans 2bs to 32s per qr. Butter 7d to td per lb ; eggs 22 to 24 for IS. EDINBURGH GRAIN MARKET, MAY 21. —We had a fair supply of grain in the market to-day. Sales ready for all sorts, and prices a little up. Top of wheat the same as last week, and the average 8d up. Barley on the top the same as last week, and the average 8d down. Oats on the top Id up, and the average 2d up. Beans on the top is up, and the average Is 4d up. Unsold-135 qrs wheat, 39 qrs barley, 71 qrs oats, and 00 qrs beans. Top of Wheat ... ... ... 650 b. 44s Od „ Barley ..• •„, .. 57 lb. 32s Od , Oats ... ... ••• ... 44}1b. 25s Od „ Beans ~ ••• ... 6741 b. 34s Od EDINBURGH CATTLE MARKET, MAY 21.—The number of cattle was 611, or 134 less than last week. Top price of the best cattle, 6s 9d; current, Os to Cs ed ; secoLdary and inferior, from is Od to 5s Od per Dutch stone. A good clearance was effected. The number of sheep and lambs this morning was 1,225, or 476 less than last week. Top price of the best mutton, t'Ld per lb ' • current, 6d; ewes an d i n f er i or sorts, 5d to .*1 per lb. Lambs, top, 225; current, 18s, and down to 15, a head. DUNBAR, MAY 20.—Wheat, weighing 001bs, brought 425, and prices to 36s Od. Barley, weighing Oolbs brought Cos Od, a n d pr i ces to 00s od. Oats, weighing 43i-lb ' s, brought 22s 6d, and prices to 20s Od. Beans and peas, weighing 001bs, brought 00s Od, and prices to 00s Od. CORK, MAY 21. Barrels. 13 White wheat 2 25 Od to 00s Od Currency. 00s Od— 20 0 Red whe a t oos Od to 00s Od 0 0 s Od-20 dostote 0 Barley oos Od to 00s Od 00s Od-16 do 0 Bere ......... Os Od to Os Od 09s Od 62 Oats ......... lO5 2d to 11s 9d 11s Bd-14 do 0 Pigs ............ 008 Od to 00s Od 00s Od per cwt Quantity sold at the Highest Prices:- 0 barrels white wheat; 0 red ; 0 barley; 0 bere; 2 eats; 0 pigs. Quantity of Grain and Number of Pigs sold last week Wheat, 21. Barley, 18. Oats, 483. Pigs, —. PRICES OF BUTTER. CANT. CURRENCY. First quality Second quality Third quality ............ Fourth quality Fifth quality Sixth quality Return of Cattle sold for the week ending May 17 : Pigs, 357. Sheep, 469. Co CORE.—Flour—Firet Il s 6d to 12s Od; ws, ext 82. ra 6d seconds, lOs 6d to 11 s Od ; h ouseholds 9s to 10s Od; thirds 75 to ; 8. per cwt. O a t mea l lO s to 1 0s 6d; Indian meal 7s 6d to Bs3d; w 123 heat meal, 9s 6d to 10s per cwt. Indian corn 71 15s Od to 810 s Od per ton. Bran 80s Od t o 85 s p er t on. H ay —Farmers 208 to 375; average 343; dealers 44, to 52s Od; average 00a per ton. Straw—Farmers 108 Od to 25s Od ; average 00s ; dealers 28s Od to 32s Oil; average 00s Od per ton. Bread—Wheaten loaf sid to 6d ; household loaf 4id to 5d per 41b. Fresh butter, 104 to 12J per lb. Eggs-3s 4d to 3s 6d per hundred. Coals— Newport 14s Od ; Lydney 155 ; Landore 14. ; Neath Culm, 13s 6d per ton. Tallow 385 Od to 405 per cwt. Wi ll i e/1 7' 41 t: . 6 P cd ; 58mt?tdtonper5dimtl.)oeria7ld ;galvleolal 4411%1e:0t 5d ; pork 4d to Od ; bacon 7d to 8d ; sausages 5d per lb. Hops 6110 5 t o 0/ O s per cwt . B angor slates 3/ 25 6d to 3/ tis per ton. Bark—B ar b ary 7 1 O s to 81 O s ; V alonia 151 to 0/; French 6/ Os ; Spanish 0/ per ton. Fleece Wool 14s to 15s per stone. Hemp 32/ t 034/ per ton. Fish—Scotch herrings 19s to 00s ; red ditto, 26s to 00s per barrel ; Newfoundland, 10/ Os to 11/ per ton. Timber—Memel, 80s per ton ; red pine, 31 10s ; yellow ditto, 2/ 15s per ton; deals, 12s to 15a per 100. Hides— Market 24s to 345; salted 2.5 s to 34s per mat ; calf skins 3id to 3id per lb. Potatoes, white 8d to 10d; Minions, 12d to 15d. Guano— Peruvian, 11/ 10, ; Ichaboe, 8/ to 91 Os per ton. Tar—Archangel, 192 per barrel. EXTENSIVE SWINDLING ZN FRANCE.—The police have just arrested six individuals for swindling on an extensive scale. They became acquainted in the debtors' Prison of Clic:lw, and established what they called ions- R mis sion houses, on the Boul evar d S t. M art i n, an d i n the ue de Larochfoucald. They issued p om p ous c i rcu l ars to anufacturers and tradesmen, stating that they had found smeagniticent dehouches for all descriptions of goods. In con e:), considerable quantities of merehandize were trans sessieny.oulAefetperhinethi mi l t u te e ( n l signed by them, and they gave in return bills of exchange, p e al ra rto e r nt i they r _y_,Ten of straw. They sold the goods for whatever nthtehyeeceamfreauidnetoisthtehier per- Bordeaux son also last year or a ' Bordeaux and Toursgfonrized a service of tilburies between the use of certain speculators the quotations of the Paria Bourse, before 0, ...ey could ard hides travelled with great To lii'i.in. regular course. The ye and the mystery which h ung P o u v , e ti . , ti from their colour the " Cabri9lets du diable."..l'ream them:, they were called 1 ,••per.• pouf THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, MAY 23, 1851. be received in no obstructive spirit by the Government. He thou,ght this was peculiary the time when efforts for education were necessary, because passing events were such as to make them sensible of the position of their country in this particular. In almost every department, military, constitutional, and literary, there was room for self-congratulation, but on this one of education, it was not a question whether England was first among the nations, but ninth, tenth, or twelfth. If they looked, too, at their own internal condition—at the mass of pauperism and crime which existed among them, they would also see what necessity there was for an educa tional movement. They heard a great deal of the over -crowded state of the labour-market, but if they looked at the report of the inspectors they would find that in many districts, while there was a super fluity of uneducated labour, there was a great deficiency of that which required skill and education. The constitution of the country supposed knowledge and education in all subjects, and called upon all citizens to discharge duties which could not be discharged by un educated men. The means now pursued fur the promo tion of education were not sufficient to carry out a system of education sufficient for the wants of the peo ple. To prove this, he would rely only on the reports of the Government Inspectors themselves; all of which were nothing mere than a continued illustration of the necessity of some measure being introduced for the compulsory adoption of a general system of education. He did nut mean to charge the Committee with in:en tional partiality, but apparent and inevitable partiality was inherent in the system. There was another point which gave the appearance of partiality to the adminis tration of these grants. Of all the school inspectors ap poinied there were only three who did not belong to one profession, and that was the Church. There was also another show of partiality induced by the in structions which the Committee of Council laid down in regard to the bestowment of grants. Money was given, not in proportion to the educational wants of a district or locality, but the amount of volun tary subscriptions which were collected for the purposes of education. He found that an application for a grant was refused, because no particular religious education was given in the school, yet in many schools of this description, a more sound and really moral and religious education was afforded than in many establishments professing to be of a higher character. In rural districts the greatest difficulties had to be encountered in the formation of charitable schools, and the owners and occupiers of land contributed very trifling sums towards the funds required for the purpose. Hence the necessity became apparent for the interposition of the Government to make all classes pay in proportioa to their means to the education of the people. Another reason why the present system could not accomplish the purposes of a national education was, that a religious difficulty stood in the way, and that people refused to pay for that which did not agree with their religious tenets. The Hon. Member then quoted passages from the reports of Mr. Kennedy and other school inspectors, for the purpose of showing the neces sity of some measure being devised for the extension of a wise and enlightened system of secular education. The inspectors did not speak merely from the condition of the great bulk of the schools actually in existence; their impressions were derived from the best class of schools, and they had seen these schools in their best condition. We need look no farther than this impor tant fact, however, that the schools actually existing were twice as large as was necessary for the accommo dation of the children who attended them. In the gene ral return of the schools aided by Government grants, amounting to 3,255 schools, it was stated that the ac commodation for children was adequate to 539,000, but that the average daily attendance was only 246,979. With regard to the administration of the Goverianent grant, too, in his opinion there had been very consider able partiality exhibited—not an intentional but an in evitable partiality—which was inherent in the system, ' and which could not but indispose a great portion of the people to giving their cordial co-operation in carrying ( out that system. Now it could not be doubted that the I British and Foreign School Society had effected much good throughout the country; but what figure did it cut in the grant for public education? In the year 1840, when the public grant was only 60,000/. the amounts granted to the National Church Schools and the British and Foreign Schools were about equal; being 5,2464 to the one, and 4,2201. to the other. Iu the next year the grant was increased, and the disparity showed itself. The Church Schools received 13,1971., and the British and Fo reign Schools wily 10,9451. In 1849 the disparity became extraordinary, and the Church Scho •Is obtained 39,574/ out of the public grant, and the British and Foreign Schools only. 3,350/. ; and last year the public money applied to Church Schools was 24,7204, while that to the British and Foreign Schools was only 386/. Now he did not complain of intentional partiality in the distri bution of the grant. He believed the discrepancy was in separable from the fact that the religious difficulty, and other difficulties incidental to education, had thrown the British and Foreign Society back in its claims on the public funds. But could it be said that this disparity represented the relative position, labour, and usefulness of those two great societies? And was not an injurious effect necessarily predated thereby on the public mind? But whatever was the cause, there was the result. ' Another point in which the present system exhibited partiality, though it was not intentional, was, that of all the inspectors appointed, there were but three who did not belong to the Established Church; and these three were absolutely requisite —one for the British and Fo reign, one for the Wesleyan, and one for the Roman Catholic schools. Another appearance of partiality was produced by the restrictions laid down by the Privy Council in the bestowal of grants. It gave the least help where most was needed. It gave in proportion, not to the educational wants of a locality, but to the amount of the voluntary subscriptions raised in that locality. Another partiality, which had an injurious tendency in certain lo calities, was this—poorratepayers in the rural districts did not look with complacency at finding themselves rated to give an education to pauper children, which they wore unable to bestow upon their own children—(llear)—and it was stated in the third annual report for 1850 that the high standard of workhouse education was fast ceasing to be exceptional. But the worst of the partial results of the existing system was the inequality with which the support of schools pressed upon the different classes, and especially upon the clergy, The Hon. Gentleman here read the list of subscribers to one vil lage school, from which it appeared that to raise the sum of 281., the expense of that school for one year, six landlords and farmers subscribed ss. a piece, the princi pal landowner in the parish three guineas, a friend of the rector 5/., and the pour rector himself 17s. 10s.— (Hear, hear.) Surely a state of things like that showed the absolute necessity for the intervention of Govern ment, so far as to call upon every man to pay according to his means. There was an aversion in persons to pay towards the support of that which did not agree with their theological opinions, and yet the present system, in a strange manner, whilst giving a stern denial to merely secular education, patronised every kind and species of theology, applied the public money to any creed, patronised error as regularly as truth, and seemed to rest on the conviction that there was some evil in mere instruction which might be rectified even by a bad theology.—(Hoar, hear.) The British and Foreign Schools Society had as exclusive a creed as the National School Society themselves. And where, he asked, was the wisdom, the justice, or the propriety of calling upon Protestants to supply funds for the support of schools in which they had been told Madonuas were wor shipped by the children, and which schools were em ployed in the promulgation of that to which the country took the most violent exception?—(Hear, hear.) Every one had now to pay for something which he dis believed, and he in turn became the occasion of taxation upon others for that which he believed and they did not believe. When he mentioned an educational rate, he trusted it would not seem to be an enterprise involved in expense welch a nation like this ought to grudge. Tne best calculation which had been made proved that in the pound wou l d be j county of Lanca s t er twopence in the sufficient for the erection of all the schools which might j be required for the whole of the children of that county, and he believed we were paying directly as much now as we need pay for a complete system of national edu cation. But we could not do better than take the expe rience of America upon this matter. He held in his hand a report signed by Mr. Henry Barnard, a com missioner appointed by Rhode Island in 1846, to com pare the different modes of public education throughout the various states of the Union. And he stated in re ference to places where the system had been carried out to completion, that whilst it gave a good education it had diminished the expense of both public and private instruction. The resolution which he (Mr. Fox) now submitted to the House asserted the desirableness of local government as well as of local taxation for the support or these schools; and he believed that by this means facilities would bo given for preventing some of the evils which were frequently anticipated as connected with the introduction of a new system. He was desirous of effect ing the separation of secular and theological instruction; but it should be recollected that the separation or anni hilation of either of these modes was a totally different thing. What he wished was that the schoolmaster should fulfil his work of secular instruction, and thus prepare and expand the mind for that religious training which then the minister of the chapel or the clergyman of the parish might bestow, and which he only could bestow with efficiency. Religion required an intellectual atmos phere, and other faculties were to be trained besides those which were to be exercised in the reception of re ligious truths and principles; and therefore the advo cates of secular instruction were, in fact, rendering much more important service towards a religious education than were those who made the appearance of the one the sole object of their instruction, and threw the other into comparative disregard. He contended, then, that they were bound to separate secular and religious in struction, or, without it, there was no chance whatever of a general education in this country. They could produce no combination but upon this system. And was it wholesome that chil dren should be trained up from their earliest youth within-the lines of sectarian demarcation? Was it . no good to th em i n a f ter l i fe to look back to their schooen l. fellows•—to remem b er the impressions which were o t then made, and to h ave some b etter op i n i on o f t h ose wh dif fered from them u p on re li g i ous po i nts , t h an they could have if they had been kept separate and apart on o ac o a e ou o nt of their reli g i ous differences? There was !to cu xin or coheren ce i n t h e present system o f a mimed religious and secular instr u cti on . Wh a t a ffinity bad the Apostles' or the Athanasian Creed with the multiplication table, for instance? Why, they were treated by themselves as perfectly distinct in their own proceedings; for there was a minute of Council which instructed the inspectors, as to certain sc h oo ls, to report only upon the sec u l ar, and not upon the religious instruction. Did not this at once destroy the theory of their being indissoluble, or there being any advantage in so blending them together that the onecould not be separated from the other? Besides, religious education had been to a certain extent provided; and the voluntary principle would do that, both in the Es tablished Church and in the Dissenting community. But he would not say the voluntary principle in the Esta blished Church, because it was the bounden duty of the clergyman to attend to the religion of the children as well as the adults ; and let the work be well done by the clergyman, where was the necessity for the inter ference of the schoolmaster in the teaching of religion ? He was urging nothing new or unheard of, or for which he had not the sanction of authority. In an episcopal charge delivered two years ago in St. Paul's, the Bishop, in commenting upon the question of education, observed that however valuable masters of schools might be in other respects, they seldom found them possessed of ability to communicate real religion; that the doctrines which led to practical godliness must be inculcated by those whose office it was to expound the Bible ; that the literary charec er of the school might depend on the master, but the religious character must depend on the clergy. The separation of religious and secular educa tion was in fact acted on in practice in all scholastic establishments, such as the R iyal Naval School arid others, over which the Government had contr o l, just as it would be i n th e sc h oo l s w h ich he proposed. It was only when they considered instruction in a charitable point of view that they gave the preponderance to reli gious teaching. The Bible was not a book which should be given into the hands of poor ignorant children for the purpose of teaching them to read. Such was the opinion of Dr. Hook —an opinion which was sustained by the authority of one of the most eminent men this coun try ever produced, whose philosophy was as beneficent as his eloquence was brilliant, and whose piety was as unquestionable as his mighty talent—he meant Edmund Burke—who, in a speech deliver -d some eighty years ago in this House, in the year 1772, observed that the Bible was no summary of doctrines regularly digested, but a venerable and multifarious record of Di vide promises. Such a book was not therefore the only fit and suitable work to be entrusted to the compara tively uninformed schoolmaster for the teaching of the ignorant children under his charge. They had all expe rience of that in this country, for it had not been so ef fectual a barrier against criminality as had been sup posed. For twelve consecutive years the criminal tables showed an increase of criminality in the imperfectly educated. Such tables tested the value of sound instruc tion by a constantly diminishing ratio in the per-ceetatee of criminals well taught; they showed a constantly dirnt fishing ratio in the per-centage not taught at all, but a constantly increasing ratio in the imperfectly taught. The decrease in the former was 33 5.10 to 31 5.10 per cent., while the increase in the latter was from 53 1-10 to 59 5.10 per cent. Religious teaching failed, in fact, because it was not sufficiently combined with secular education. The Irish national schools were much better condu . cted in respect to the separation of theological from secular instruction than the schools in this coun try. There was a larger portion of the secular element in the instruecion given, and the faculties of the children were, therefore, more fully developed. The result was, that from 1845 to 1849 (the years to which the re turns he had got applied), the number of those com mitted who could read and write, instead of increasing, as in this country, decreased from 26 3-10 per cent, of the whole criminal population in the first-named year, to 17 6-10 per c- nt. in 1849 ; whilst the number of criminals who could neither read nor write increased in a corresponding proportion —a result exactly the re verse of what took place in this country. In the re port of the inspector of the Lancashire Sunday schools, analogous results were traced, which proved that Sun day-school teachitg required something in addition to its ordinary character to render it efficacious. It was necessary to do something, as the voluntary system did not meet the emergency, and was nut capable ef xeen sion so as to meet it. If, therefore, not on the ground of preference, at least on the ground of nscessity, te were thrown back on some suc h plan as that coetaiti h ed y in the proposition he should submit to the House, that conviction was growing end spreading throughout the country, especially among those whose co-operwhin was necessary to the success of a general system of educa tion by the working classes. A number of such schools had already been established in London, where the edu cation, according to the judgment of Mr. Mosley, the inspector of the British Wedyan denominational h choo Is , was of a high order. The same gentl- man also spoke of the great and growing attention which this educational problem excited amongst the great iseicantile and ma nufacturing interests of the North, and he added that be ha I been invited to inspect most superior educatiunal institutions which had risen eut of the efforts of the working classes, sided by their employers, to elevate themselves in the scale of intelligence. He thanked the House fur it. attention, and he had only to say that at the present time, amidst tne conflicts of pitiless! parties —amidst the collision of rival churches and hierarchies —amidst the striea of sects, and the war of different classes, systems, and interests —amidst the collision of their various systems of policy, whether commercial or constitutional —amidst the competition of nation,, and the development of industrial and artistic energies, nothing could better engage the attention of the Legis lature than building up an educational fabric of national greatness and prosperity, founded on the broad basis of national intelligence. The Hon. Gentleman concluded with the motion of which he had given notice:—" That it is expedient to promote the education of the people in England and Wales, by the estaelishment of free schools fur secular instruction, to be supported by local rates, and managed by committees, elected specially for that purpose by the ratepayers." Sir G. GREY said the Hon. Gentleman had begun his speech by referring to some observations made by the First Lord of the Treasury on the subject of education out of that House, and from theta he anti cipated that though the Government might not concur with him in the proposition expressed in his resolution, it would not be met by them in an obstructive spirit. He assured the Honourable Gentleman, though he could not consent to his resolution in the form in which it was expressed, he should not meet in a spirit of opposition any attempt that might he made to extend the means of sound and useful education amongst the children of the great body of the people of this kingdom ; and still less would ho oppose any attempt to draw the different classes together, with a view to combining the different religious denominations in the promotion of that important subject. Ho did not dispute that there were great deficiencies in their present educational sys tem, and which were inherent in that system, as applied to the great body of the people. But he must also re mind the House of the great increase which had of late taken place in the means of education among the lower clases—au increase not only in the number of the sc'iools, but also in the improved condition of the teachers, their qualifications for the discharge of their duties, and the improved character of the education fin parted. He admitted, at the same time, that much re mained to be done; but they were now asked to assent to the proposition that it is expedient to promote the education of the people of England and Wales by the establishment of tree schools for secular instruction, to be supported by local races, and managed by com mittees elected for that purpose by the ratepayers. So far as the application of local rates to supply existing deficiencies in education, he was not prepared to differ with the Hon. Gentleman. There could be no reasonable distinction drawn between the applica tion of local rates and the appropriation of a portion of the general taxation of the country to the pro motion of education; and there might be advan tages from local management, provided ffficie it in inspection of the schools were secured. To that part of the plan he had no objection; but he must hesitate be fore adopting a resolution on the expediency of enforcing a system of local rates for the purpose, because the cir cumstances of the different parts of the country were so essentially dissimilar, that though the system might be applicable to the country generally, it would net apply universally to ail parts. They had a precedent in allow ing a portion of the local rates for baths and wash houses, and in a Bill now before the House, for apply ing part of the local rates . to provide better dwellings for the poor. If they might be applied, then, to the improvement of the moral, seciel, aad pey.ical condi tion of the poor, there could he no objection to their application in the advancement of the more important object of Sound education. But everything depended on what the character of that education was to be; and he was bound to say he felt the same insuperable objec tion to the terms of the resolution that lie did to the Honourable Gentleman's Btll of last year, which the House had rejected, on the discussion of the second reading, by a very large majority. His objection was, that the principle of the Honourable Gentleman's motion was that the application of the local funds should be limited to the promotion of secular education, from which religious education should be excluded altogether. Such schools wo u ld, if t h ey succee d e d , supereeee those now in existence. Th e H on . G en tl eman sa id i t was not fair to call on p ar ti es to support any system ofre the Hon. education of w hi c h th ey did not approve ; but Hon. Gentleman did not get rid of a similarobjec e t n io H n . by his plan of applyi ng th e rates, w h et h er local or there ral, to the purpo ses o f secu l ar e d ucat i on only; for g rates who were large numbers w h o con t r ib u t e d to the retarded the communication of religious instruction along with secular education as indispensable . it should be remembered that . the frequenters poor schools had nowhere else to obtain religi o o o u i s le i g n e s a tr i u o c r ti t o h n e , whereas the students in seminaries and . . better classes had other sourcesfo a r t a re t l i og e ou a s f m li s f t e ruc w t h ee e n n , while they were usually arrivedd were already the religious impressions anopinions formed; whereas, for the communication of catechetical instruction the children of the poor could not be got to frequent the church, and if they were to excludeorfdrooll. their schools the practice of the reading of the Word God, they would deprive them of their only source of religious instruction. That was the principle of the [f Gentleman ' s present pro p os i t i on, and of his Bill irst ' hich he had then objected and still objected; a y n e d ar t , h t e o w repetition of that propo s i t i on now must meet with the same opposition from the Government that it had last year. The Hon. Gentleman had referred to the Irish national schools; but according to the Hon. Gentleman's proposition these sobools would be absolutely deprived of participation in the local rates, The Hon Gentleman had also referred to the opinion of Dr. Hook; but Dr. Hook bad n ever expressed an opinion hostile re to the readin in st g rof the Bible in sc h ools with a view to religious uction; but th e R everend Gentleman thought it ought not to be used in schools for the mere purpose of teaching children to read. Ile (Sir G. Grey) doubted, too, if they really could prevent a schoolenaster, fully conscious of his responsibility, from conveying religious instruction to the children com mitted to his care. The Hun. Gentleman had taken oc casion to allude to what he called the rival plan devised at Manchester. Some time back Mr. Entwistle and some other gentlemen submitted to him the heads of a t system of education to b e a ppli ca bl e pr i nc i pa lly, if not solely, t o th e very populous districts of Manche: Bill Manchester and l to Salfurd, and stated th a t th e y meant to pro p ose Parliament for the purpose not this session, as there would not be time, b u t next sess i on . Th e scheme ere was based on the combi na t ion o f t h e representatives f dif ferent reli g i ous d enom i nat i ons i n t h ose large districts— thewhich were system to be su pp orte d ou t of therates to be applicabl e t o t h e ma i n t enance of existing schools in wbioh religion was taught. L7ery religious denomi. nation was represented on their committee, and t 0; withstandin g the &jections of som e R o man Catl 3 '! l l priests, the R oman C at h o l ic laymen remained on l', committee, and the committee did not despair of del; sing means of including the Roman. Catholics. It ' expected, too, th e y wou l d b o able to include Leeds iris, 'o operation, and with th e pro b a b ility of such a sc he n succeeding it w ou ld b e most i nexpedient to aff i rm a 'e solution which wou ld exc l u d e religious inst r uct i on fro m b 0 ~.` secular education. He trusted that the system !erred to would he brctught forward successfully , a', that it would be the means for augmenting the means education and of combining the different classes of tie community in one common effort for that laudable objec t ij Mr. HUME said the Right Hon. Baronet seeraeo l i i forget the great point at issue, the necessity of a gen T ie education for the poorer classes of the country. M l 3, Hon. Member for Oldham had shown the clear non' nexion between ignorance and crime, it behoved the Government to attend to the Question. The R Baronet said it was impossiele to deal with the i al g n hetsti t 7,; but it was done in the United States with the gre._a, end success. He (Mr. Hume) aereed with his Hon. Fr:_ er that it was the duty of the country to educate the p . 71,0 classes for their respective conditions in life; an d oho the that it should be at the cost of the State. In 1rehin . a ....... Catholic priests objected to education without reliew u hence the god!, as colleges; while the Right Hen. Baronetwe said that he could not agree to any education tha t f purely secular and uncennected with the teach% „ in true reli g i on; b ut there were upwards of twenty sei'vhe England, each of them t-.achine a d fferent faith• United was to sa y w hi c h was the true religion? In the Unitedite States the the villages of 50 ind iv id ua l s were o bli g ed to lo w tain a scho o l tor six m ont h s , w hil e t h ose o f 100 ebut obliged to mai n t a i n one a e ear. , This was done w, l 'e ov seta relign Ili differe nce , b ecause religion was exclu d eo them, and th e c hil dren brought up alone in a kn out" l i ze as ledge of their duties to society. Were the c l than of the United States less moral or less intelligen t it those of England? The exempt° of the Americanws ere least in this instance, should be looked to. T he re ee ns, bringing up a moral, virtuous generation of c ,'" „ d the capable of fulfilling all their duties; while in Engt ilee s different sects were quarrelling about who should have monopoly of the education of the people. W e i erle; Friend did not desire to set religious iustruction a for on the contrary, he desired to fit the youthful mi nd e e a its due receptien. It was a d u t y specially worth'', dis senate to legi,late upon this subject; and it n /15 , that grace to England, rich, powerful, and populoulgent there should be such au amount of crime o°4l er - e rica and arising, as was proved, entirely out of the ig n- i the of that class welch should be the best supP° ll° jou° State. The present system created the most aeril; difference between the several classes of the colete r e e n e e d the contrary one produced the best effects on ther i - d r en States—Massachusetts, for instance, where the cui s ta te. of the poor were educated at the expense of the the In Edinburgh the result of an inquiry instituted lots,e antectelents of five hundred prisoners proved that e a was transmitted from generation to generation in many families, because of the ignorance and neglect in, ; on they had been left. He therefore called old men of property to consider whether it e .,1 di not be better to adopt the system of his Hon. F en cer and by increasing education reduce the amount of o ll oa t He hailed the Lancashire plan of education with goon satisfaction; and it that could be carried out his at o Friend would b e sat i s fi e d . Each parish sbould•ht% 0 tt poer of ratin g it se lf , f ur t h e support of the Echo° os. the parishes already had for baths and wasbli° ° ,i a t Under the se circumstances he hoped the Noble Lord the head of th e G overnment, who with his fatnili e te e always be en t h e great supporters of education, wil l ' hat allow himself t o b e d iverted by trivial diffrences, 90 would take the broad course. Surely EnO b :e• might do that which was done in this matter by 0. ricans. atl so Mr. A. B. HOPE should oppose the motion, be es et he was desirous of giving all creeds the mesterei. her liberty of action. The resolution of the Hon. Al e h - ei th fur Oldham was, in his opinion, one more fraught ,'„o, oanger to the principle of religious liberty than, pern. any other that had ever been laid before Parlianl e : /e If a purely secular education could be given, .be ( b e Hope) would no t o bj ect to it; but that was imPeseitie by the very l aws o f nature.—(lleer, hear.) It dogmaticr. ligion w as not taught in the schools under t' system of th e H on . Member, some religion would Ilfe. ei, 0 - sully be tau g ht, i f i t was none other than the neant l ee o of all faith. The Hun. Gentleman asked what bad t o multiplication t a t l e to d u with religion, and last Yele he had a s ked w h at had religion to du with the enjoyloe of the beauties of nature; but to be t +tight anything e e child should be taught to trace things to their re m merits, and h ow , i n t h at case, could a knowl e dge of Li. Supreme Being be shut out from his mind? Whet', the most elementary education was imparted, therefo re ' or the most scientific, the result was identical. At t o very lots e,t, these schools would have, consequently, to teach Deism or Atheism. A compulsory system of edit' cation was instituted by the motion, and a scheme !` ti up side by side with the established religion whic h taught these, and from which the poor could not escape' Therefore it was that be (Mn, E.) considered the Fche °3 o of the Hon. Member as so fraught with danger; and- 0 ,. this ground, as well as upon many others which h" should not trouble the House to detail, he should oppose the motion. He was at one with the Hon. Gentle: man in his wish to improve the moral condition o r the people of this country; but he could not see why the Anglo-Sax on p rinc i ple of decentralization, which had been adopted in trade and all other matters, should not be allowed freely to exist in the matter of education. Either religious toleration should be abolished, and a compulsory religion enforced tii well as a compulsory education; or education in respect of religion should be left perfectly free. He had no objection to its being made as free as possible, nor woul°, he oppose tax at i on f ur the purpose; but be was of opinion that the only way to obtain a national systet" wee to distribute the amount centributed by the State, in the ratio of their wants, among the several religious denominations of the country. Be was for the adoption of a system analogous to that of the London University , and he was opposed to the gigautie scheme which it prepesed of centralisation. Colonel THOMPSON said the Hon. Gentleman bad overlooked the fact that there were different establiah meets tor each denomination of Dissenters. Was there no way of getting rid of the great obstacle to a general education presented by religious difference? Why should not an hour a day be assigned for religious it- 1 " . structioit ? Why should the religious question be forced on public education? It was not mixed up with private education. Beefs and girls could learn French or Italian without it; why not the poor learn as well the art of reading? He thought the various sects were afraid of the spread of human knowledge. The State should take advantage of it. Mr. TRELAWNY denied the proposition of the Hon. Member for Maidstone, that not to teach religion was A Megaton of religion. He contended that education, as a means of repressing crime, should be adopted by the .State as,weil as any other mode of repressing it. Th e amount expended on the punishment of criminals at the present moment was enormous; and it behoved the country to take up the subject. Ile could not compre hend the course of the Noble Lord in demanding an nually such a miserable pittance as 150,0001. for educa tion. If education was worth anything, it was worth more than dna. Educati o n would have put an end to the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill; and he believed, if the Go vernment asked for such a sum as would give a good ' general education to the poor, that Parliament would not refuse it, notwithstandieg the selfish opposition of the middle classes to taxation. S a- far as he (Hr. Trelawny) was concerned, there was no sacrifice which he was not prepared to make on the subject. air. W. PATTEN agreed with the Hon. Member for Montrose as to the necessity for education at the public expense, • but in his own county, as well as th roughout l s z e e sup o n . w o liu ld e be tak en , an d believed that t e h d e uc c a o t u io u t t , ry llo g t en lo er u a n l d ly e , d a ,a f t a , Chet religion was feeling in the country at large that combined with e d ucat i on; it was so in a uuid n strong e Lancashire, where great efforts were made to educate the people, and where those succeeded best which were based upon religion. If nu other plan of education suc ceeded, he might, perhaps, Support that of the Hon. Member; but until all those in process failed, he should oppose the motion of the Hon. Member. He was of opi nion that the scheme now in agitation in Manchester, al luded to by his Right Hon. Friend, was the one best adapted for the country; and though he admitted the po pularity of the rival scheme, he maintained that this was equally popular. It was With great reluctance, however, he voted against the resolution. Mr. M. GIBSON said the first part of the speech of the Right Hun. Gentleman the Government were favourablegavehimto speech to which he was was favourable of' scheme of education, principle of a rate. T t h ethethon great t .L h wam o he p iee e ct na y : h t her h i rer a ,:s t ferred to the general of rates " whether a e c o o u doubted, ld b e est h a o bl wever : but then, if established, syst em they must not be denominational ished or sectarian rates. If such kind of rates were adopted, the result would be that a special majority would be able to enforce on the minority of their fellow-parishioners that system of religious teaching to which the minority might be o p p . ised. If then such a system were en forced, it would pat the whole country into a reli gious conflict. B u t if rates were to b o levied without reference to religious denomination, it did not necessarily follow that the schools would be irreli gious schools, as they bad been termed. This plan was to give elementary instruction, and to set apart a spe c i a l separate time for teachin g religious matters. It ap peared to him th a t th e mere g i v i ng of primary instruc tion was so good in itself that it could not fail of pro ducing groat moral effects. He bad doubts of the pro pricy of allowing schoolmasters to be also religious teachers. From what he had been inform e d , he was over the religious by the R ev . inclined to doubt whether Ministers were th e proper par ties studiesto haveef children. the I ea controllingspeech F. Grose at a public meeting, it was asserted that the pow more a man advanced in knowledge the more he receded from religion. Now he differed from the sentiments of the Rev. Gentleman—on the contrary, he belived the more that a man was taught, the more The Rev, Gen he become religious and moral. Liev. Gentleman was fur- to ther said, we ought to weave Church of England or Evangelical principles with education. If we separated secular and religious educatio, we should separate what God had joined together. Now he was sure the of England would never agree to a people . system of public rating, when they saw what l c ergymen proposed to du with the money if they . got it, and the system of secta rian education they proposed to establish. He ha n the operation of secular educ • in a see atm Belgium, Holland, and other countries, and he defied any one to say those countries were less moral than England. It was not right to throw on the supporters of his Hon. Friend's plan the charge of a desire to give ed • mitten without religion; thela• object is Hon Friend had was t o g i ve useful.secular instr • * instruction, and he should therefore sup port it. • Mr. WIGRAIi said the growing interest in the sub ject showed that the real question was not, whether edu- IMPERI Mr. JOHN O'BRIEN presented petitions from the parishes of St. Michael's, St. John's, and St. Munchin's, in favour of the Towns Improvement Bill, and the reten tion of the 26th clause. ATTORNEYS' CERTIFICATE DUTY. Lord R. GROSVENOR announced that it was not his intention to bring forward his motion on this subject. ISLINGTON CATTLE MARKET. Mr. WILSON PATTEN moved that the Islington Cattle Market Bill be referred to the Committee on Smithfield Market Removal Bill.—Agreed to. ECCLESIASTICAL TITLES BILL. Mr. T. MINCOMBE gave notice that, on going into Committee on this Bill, he should move that the first clause be postponed until the House be in possession of the brief, rescript, or letter apostolic on which the said 'lenge is founded. RAILWAY ACCIDENTS. Sir G. CLERK wished to ask the Right Hon. Gen tleman at the head of the Board of Trade what steps had been taken by the Railway Board in relation to the two late railway accidents ; and whether, if the Railway Board had not power to adopt regulations for the public safety, it was the intention of the Right Hon. Gentle man to introduce a Bill for the purpose of enabling that Board to interfere fur the safety of life and limb to the public ? Mr. LABOUCHERE said the subject had been for some time, and was still under the consideration of the Railway 13 0ard. With regard to the first accident, a very able report had been presented to the Commissioners on the subject by the gentleman who had been sent down for the purpose, which report he should feel it his duty to lay upon the table of the House.—(Hear, hear.) An inspector had also been sent down to attend the inquest on the second when it took place. With regard to the most material part of the Right Hon. Baronet's iapiry, the propriety of the Railway Com missioners undertaking the special control of railway ar rangements, in order to ensure public safety, he would take the liberty of asking the House to be very cautious before they adopted the opinion that the public safety . would be inc rease d b y b e i ng placed under the control of a railway board. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. Mr. EWART rose to move that it is expedient that the mitigations which have been made in the laws in flicting capital punishment in England be extended to Scotland, and (as far as possible) to the colonial posses sions of this country. He thought there could, at all events, be no objection on the part of the House to in stitute an inquiry into the law of Scotland on this sub ject. With regard to the colonies, he observed that the laws of several of them presented many anomalies as compared with those of England. In St. Lucia the penal laws of Louis the XlVth. were now in force ; in Ceylon the Dutch laws prevailed, and and arothson, coinin g , h omicide, receiving stolen property, other offences were punishable by death. At the Cape of Good Hope the same enactments existed which were introduced in the time of Charles V., and by thetuithe crimes of coining, forgery, housebreaking, rioting, and stealing, were visited with capital punish ment. There still remained, also, at Malta, a remnant of the Justinian code, and among other offences punished by death were attempts to poison, and even the breaking of the quarantine laws. lie believed that many of our colonies had themselves effected considerable changes in their liw 3 , but he was anxious that the laws of all the colonies should be made conformable to the laws of England. —(Hear, bear.) li e was not aware whether the House had power to do this. It might be that the principle on which it acted was first to improve the constitution of the colonies, and then allow them to make laws for thernEelves—a principle to which he was favourable, but he thought, at the same time, that a suggestion made by the ;House in the shape of a resolution such as he proposed, would have con siderable influence is the colonial legislative assemblies. Atsny governors of colonies had already expressed an anxious wish that the law should be assimilated, and he hoped, therefore, that no opposition would be offered to his inotion.—(Hear.) Mr. FOX MAULE said he could himself really see no objection to the proposition of the Hon. Member viz., that the law of Scotland and the colonies should be assimilated to that of England, but he questioned very much the propriety of the House adopting a resolution of such a vague character. As regarded the colonies, the House could not legislate for them in these matters, and they were themselves the best judges of that which best suited their internal arrangements. 11r. HUME did not think the Right Hon. Gentleman had done justice to the motion of the Hon. Member. With regard to Scotland, he should like to see what was practicable done by law ; bat in reference to the colonies, where they had the right of self-government, he Was disposed to leave the matter in their own hands. Maly colonies, however, did not enjoy that privi lege ; and in so far as he was concerned, he thought their criminal laws ought to be assimilated to our own, lie hoped, therefore, the Home Secretary would take up the subject and call for the opinion of the Houle upon it.—(Hear, hear.) Me HA WES did not deprecate discussion upon this subject, but he certainly was adverse to legislating upon :t at present. The motion, however, was defective so far as it related to Scotland, because the proper mode of proceeding for altering the law of Scotland was by Bill, sad not by resolution. Considering all the House had heard of late on the question , of local self govermeent, he did think it would be highly impolitic to adopt that part of the motion which had reference to the colonie', But, in point of fact, as regarded the majority of our colonies, there was no necessity for this species of le gislatiot, because their criminal codes, as nearly as was possible or expedient, had already been assimilated to those of the mother country. In proof of this ho need only refer to the papers which had been laid before the House it the course of the present session, wherein it would b 3 found that even in colonies whose codes were severer than our own, a desire was always ma nifested by the authorities to follow the example of the mother country, arid adopt a system of transpor tation in preference to resorting to the punishment of death.—(lfear, hear.) Sir G. GREY was understood to say that instructions had been fsrwarded to Scotland to make the law there in crimi na cases as l en i ent as i t i s in England.—(Hear,)Mr. E WART said the purpose of his motion had been answered by the discussion which it bad given rise to, and he world not, therefore, put the House to the trou ble of dividing upon it. The motion was accordingly withdrawn with leave. SECULAR EDUCATION. Mr. W. if. FOX then rose, pursuant to notice, to move that it was expedient to promote the education of the People, iu England and Wales, by the establishment of free schools for secular instruction, to be supported by local rates, and managed by committees, elected specially for that purpose by the ratepayers. He said he rose wick some encouragement to make this proposi tion, became, at the recent anniversary of the British and Foreign School Society, the Noble Lord at the head of the Government, who presided over the meeting, ex pressed his conviction that the present was a fitting time for making additional efforts to promote the educa tion of the people. The proposition, therefore, that he was now making to the House was not in its object ill-timed. He did not, however, think the Noble Lord's language was sufficient to warrant him in expecting that the Noble Lord would honour this motion with his sup port, but it did warrant him in expecting that it vrQuld HOUSE OF COMMONS, May 22. The SPEAKER took the Chair at Four o'clock. NEW WRIT. On the m o ti on of Mr. HAYTER a new writ was ordered for the Borough of Newry, in the room of Vis count Newry, deceased. PRIVATE BUSINESS. Mr. A. HASTIE moved that the order of the Com mittee of Selection of the 11th April, nominating the Committee on the Caledonian Railway (Motherwell Branch Extension and Lesmahagow Branches Lease) Bill, Group 15 of Railway Bills, be discharged: that the Bill be withdrawn. That leave be given to bring in a Bill to enable the Caledonian Railway Company to pro vide for the construction of certain Branch Railways in the county of Lanark. That on the said Bill being pre sented, and read the first time, it be referred to the Examiners of Petitions for Private Bills, with leave to sit and proceed to - morrow.—Aereed to. THIRD READINGS. The following Bills were read a third time and passed Chorley Waterworks. &worn Union Railway. Edinburgh Royal Asylum for the Insane. Liverpool Docks (Alteration of Management, &c.). Weston-buper-M,re Improvement and Market. CONSIDERATION OF BILLS. The following Bills were considered and agreed Brackley Roads Consolidation. Great Western Railway (Railways to connect the Bir mingham and Oxford Junction Railway with the Lon don and North-Western Railway at, Birmingham, &c.). Hayling Bridge and Causeway. North Shields Quays and Improvements. Sunderland Improvement. NEW WRIT. On the moti on of Mr. CUMMING in th BRUCE, e a new writ was order e d for the county of Argyll room of Mr. Duncan M‘Neill who had accepted the office of one of the judges in Scotland. PETITIONS. Mr. FREWEN presented a petition from Sussex in favour of the I m p rovement of Towns Bill. An HON. MEMBER presented two petitions praying for the repeal of the attorneys' certificate duty. Sir JAMES DUKE presented five petitions from the city of London, praying for the repeal of the taxes on knowledge. The MASTER of the ROLLS presented a petition from an individual holding the office of Clerk of the Enrolments in the Court of Chancery, complaining that recent acts of the Legislature had completely annihilated the fees of his situation, and praying the Elouse to make some provision for him in the new County Courts Bill. Mr. W. J. FOX presented a petition against the Reyium Don um grant. Sir B. HALL presented a petition from St. Pancras in favour of the consolidation of paving boards. Mr. DUNCUFT presented fifteen petitions from Lan cashire and Yorkshire against Papal aggression. Mr. DUNCAN presented two petitions from places in Scotland against the Education Bill. Mr. a BERKELEY presented a petition from the coachmakers of Bristol, praying for an equalization of the carriage -tax. Sir GEORGE CLERIC presented a petition from the Synod of Lothians against the Education Bill for Scot land; also a petition from the same place against the Jew Bill. Mr. KERSHAVir presented a petition from Liverpool against the Regium Donum. Mr. M. GIBSON presented a petition from Manchester praying for the repeal of the taxes on knowledge; also a petition from Ipswich against the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill.