The Sun. — London, England, 1850-02-27 00:00:00

se n se feel teat he htel sfre.'sestle ieeroceel ie •h: - ,itenes 1.1 13 l stheol stioe ; steel sees - er f " : "' ieesv_r6ehosilso and these he (`,;c. F., x ) prooese ! should and so whise ,any inhahit.v.t i,f p ar ish or district would have the ••I • his chil uree rig it to ant.: ten the ages if sit eo and t ten, without wit l6±, without any distioethee of te , sstreeet or training, Per.e!l:: the rig Lt n ° religious necaliaeities •ule•te het leaving to the 4 inalienab A ce - right ' — ‘ to have their instructscl at fixed psriods, in whatever religion u eY taigLt think proper.—(Hear.) Ho proposed that. h cll t l eaa'llig the school, each child who had conducted seatself to his master's satisfastion should have a pre jf books made to him, and that the Holy Scriptures „ always form a portion of those book: , . Ho pro itposed that the ti water should he rued., as independent as s ' i .hlt , ; that h e s h ou l d be appointed, and that he should itilsinis. , ;ible, by t h e D eca l education comm i ttee, b ut thu in case of disrnie , el, lie shettld have a right of ap 7s_ , the E lucation Committee of the Privy Council; 1. 0 if instances should occur in which a district would he t ` i le 4 reles s or so Leglectful of its duty as n..t to under .? to provide for tfo, deficiency in the supply of educe.- h _ w• ould give the ( !,im to i of the I. l rlvy Council be e to step in and rem ...sly tho t , vie To masters Woald vive rt asoi.Aatilo h., W all fix the Cure those salsri ‘s a an seamiest which would Cure to Ilium u respee . ahle seeiai position. He be tiaoed that t o b e a mstt-r Of the titr o,t passible conse seeen'!er He relied on th e schooimast Ts for the ad• thro insnt of e d ucat i on. H e b el i eved t h at it was only , 4 2igh their instrumentality that the House could en thee lets sr and brighter eeat• among the children of P e °Ple than those which they at eresent witnessed. e sat il r usted there was not hi ng i n th at sc h eme w hi c h tin e undo ubtedly he offensive to those va r iou s r e ligious bodies which tine und oubtedly done so much fur the cause of eduea- Which wo uui Ile proposed no restraint upon them. His plan cl Put an end. to that interereece which the trustees had occasioned so much vexation. If members of nne_istablished Church were to erect a school placed With the direction of a clergyman of the parish, and Fear the bishop as a visitor, but which sent out from their to year a certain number of pupils qualified to take e Pisces as members cf a civilized state, his scheme ht)°tlld reward them for the work they had done. He se a t e d that Dissenters a!so would find the measure un res"t`reatilonahle. Their schools, also, would be free from to th 411 . In fast, he was inclined to adopt, in reference, Se g o 4 t subject, a distinction which had onee been lie by the lion. Member for Surrey stre se ". Drummond) between education and in .of , - " I °o• By education he understood a complete, be r- th ati °o—a drawing out cf the mind, which could only ti s C e work cf a hi g h! ) - g if test teacher, or ef an affee . 14te Parent or master. By instruction, on the other th e t ' he underst oo d th e commun i cat i on or knowledge— stel t r . ai rling of the faculties. That was a lower task ; th e W as unfortunately the only one which it was in lts en Power of legislation to accomplish through the el e - , h e Ynr schoolmasters. There was another class to it %,,; e° could not help looking, and whose co-operation gse e l O f the utmost importance thet they should en eh • 4 that matter—he meant the working people, Op e l children were to be trained ; for wi:hout that co hoZti°n no efforts of the Legislature, or of any other selt;',. ll ,l'°h that subject could lead to the beneficial re- The ic,ulch it was so desirable that they should produce. Ilnde ""lignice of that class was, he feared, very much Per e 'rated by those who had not had opportunities of 4 °141 communication with them.—(Hear, hear.) -4 0 e,„ , thor st 6 toe' class there was a sturdy intelligence and a te e ; s ense which recoiled from charily— which l'et: -Itta d sometimes not unwarranted, sometimes had e o ln iwarrantable suspicions of their superiors, beep lob indisp o sed them to read books which had pur p°s wr itten by their betters in society for the ti~nlas they believed, of producing a par the,er action on t h e ir m inds. N o w, h e thought th a t r stu rdiness of intellect, which was the unavoidable e e : ll3 , Psuitnent of self-culture, without the possession of Tho s EX terwA advantages, was entitled to respect. teh e ', e ,,People were indisposed to send their children to k eti ' which they looked upon us charitable establish tB, or which they thought were founded for the teli r) : 3s e of prose]) rising their children to some particular L OO us denomination. A society of working men in le ts °°o had put forth a manifesto which contained a essays upon that subject, which wile, he thought, well ember of the attention of the House. (The Hon. p re gfeer here read the passage, in which the writers ex ll:sed their determination not to allow their children 40 4 a PPortioned among r e ligious se c ts, and strongly de ter.l'eQd tho se di ssens i ons amongst t h e mem b ers o f dif efrht religi ous d enom i nat i ons w hi c h h a d d epr i ve d t h em Ricans of saving their childri n from ignorance. fr omth et a its ac com p an yi ng d egra d a ti on .) He believed thec i ns° were the opinions Of the real working men, at incal c ul a bl e a d va nta g e would b e d e ri ve d from t hid ng the co-operation of teat class in a more ex its ed Reveal of education. It was expected, per * • of Hs ' that he should say something of the cost i t ;"°, Plan which he proposed. Now it would be atmlitriectation upon his part to produce figures upon pt eg ~ But he would remark that the first im ele,-:°4 Oil the mind was very likely to lead to a highly te w r ated estimate of the outlay which the plan would Llt t 'g r e• The arsociatien for education in the county of e„seaster ha I made their calculations with great care, th th e . °Y had found that they could supply schools th e - btire education of the country by a rate of 40. in laleound. They had further found that they could es sait'h a series of schools for the education of adults as "fchildren by a rat, of 6d. in the pound. That %h e _ /ih;l 4l° . h owever, was fir a complete provision of schools, "e his (Mr. Fox's) plan was merely proposed to sup- Ihi Y er exi sting deficiency. - There again, he would re te the House that atter education should have been ered more general and effective, they might reason % Yealeuiath on a great di m i nut i on o f t h e expense o f tf il"tt rg pauperism. of punishing criminals, as well as kb e t r he losses of property by theft—and further, the th e t ratep ayer; wou ld receive in the education cf their tg ildre n compensation for their contributions to the a s lti e .Toance of such a system am that which he pro oe,"'s • As he had said before. he should rely mainly 40;ue teachers for the success of any scheme of that de -I:Pti°,l; and in that reliance he felt watranted by the et.l,,,sound observation cf the Noble Lord a', the head of el; Government, made in that House three years ago, N ep tha, same topic of education had been under dis t4ir°F• The Noble Lord said upon teat occasion— °ffe always been my opinion that you could never Stti.e"tlhily raise education in this country until you oats the condition and the prospects of the school leTeters." Now that was the object he (Mr. Fox) had to school ti in r ecommen di ng t h e sa l ar i es w hi c h h e p ro p ose d 1 4: 11tt measure. If any person doubted the impertance Need tif tti masters in schools, he would direct the attention The t • t ,' Person to th e st a t o f education in the Isle of Man. to s,"le of Man was perhaps the most perfect specimen ea t Z° world of a community universally and highly edu- V 1 ,,,a , far a s regar d e d th e use of ink and paper. Every th ttt n there had its school; and the inhabitants were in was of s o c i e ty in which the power of public opinion 41% asltlght to bear upon individuals. Parents in the au were even subject to a penalty if they did not he , t oeir child ren t o sc h o ol—a thing which would not lia a l °l erated in this country—and yet the children t 04 1,1 were in the most deplorable condition which to C I , well be conc ei ve d. The Bishop, in writing ktl ," e Committee of the Privy Council, said that to aat ae s ome plan for raising the condition of the school gleeclrs wer e adopted, the education granted in the k e t7,,Would be useless, and the children there would be kreZ t 'PPed in useful knowledge by those of every other or the country. It was not on the pupils rely ; training coll e ges that he (Mr. Fox) would merely the ar carrying out that measure. The profession . of irolmaster had sank in this country because it had n ardor the encouragement which was required an i _ I tta t e ," ° enable people to devote themselves heart d itesh7 that occupation. He believed that persons well the fer that work existed in considerable numbers ._ ll 4 4 lt .Ariout the country; and he thought of the school '', 0134,-r us of the pot t—naseiter non fit. There was a —,„teett tendency in some minds which enabled them tte e ' t° Pethis e with children and to accelerate their pro tab% for the want of which no amount of learning could t hte,_ Pe e e n s (Hear, bear.) He would throw open the k Ni i Ntion for masters; he would make aptitude for woo t i t ig the great test in that competition; and then he ae h l u ly reward good teachers. Their function was r'bv w d" Le , ll ht well be deemed sacred, and they de esee - \tue best g honours which society could bestow.— a ltlli tte ttt i?s, 1 : 10 trusted that the House would judge that by its own importance and interest, and not by the and tl l l 4 q . imperfect manner in which he had brought it Bon a ea notice. He merely wished at that moment ; (1 1 "` a should be laid upon the table of the a ttl t l e t hat it should be printed; and that the House itte t e t .e ountry should take the measure into their con titie n• He prayed the House to think of the con °r thousands on thousands of children in this '' l ,l % ,;' h Y, -- -to think of the crime which had thriven in a "IYea -le h he hoped to see bring forth better fruits. He seN%etc them to think of those localities which were it ill e 4ll Y sending forth hordes of untutored savages in At t i" Who seemed to derive from civilization only 1410 4: o r eciliti e e e s m for becoming . themselves_ a more un ale .tne annoyance to society. He would have them ',our over-crowded gaols and hulks, and of our -- " n ‘ colonies; he would have them think of the e -411 4 1 4 14 1et, order, and security which might be spread es A)ra l tr e 4 . t4oll g the homes of the well-disposed by the ge e?ttld h. l ' l ltog and the moral conduct . of the people ; he f Kit • "ve them look to higher motives—to motives o 4 ! 111 : 1 › character—and to consider that the intellec -144b 'acral lustre of our country had ever been a ‘troie %Peri , h or even to that of its supremacy in arts and Ciees e Lwould have them look to those still higher hove h e - h ui eh, when the purposes of civil society should %Woe i t e - e‘ a ccomplished, would yet remain to be realised e g es °l l - 1 1 it vic lual, who by the means which they could 'Pos es f would be better qualihei to ful . fil the fi good a e Ntto r °r which he had beeu formed by his bene cent e i l tis *-- (Cheers.) The Hon. Gentleman concluded fo r r , s e llewed cheers by moving for leave to bring in a , ttlet,r°raoting the secular education of the people in 4144„1.1* doting ma Ey was anxious to render his testimony to 4 41 and ability with which the Hon. Gentle ti„°Ose. ~,,orought that subject under the notice of the i lt g ( lera tt , t 'i p e believed that the Hon. Member had rather s:sens . -(1 than overstated the deficiencies in our ,iej, l natee -Y e st eto of education. The plans which had se - hat hitherto both the extreme parties upon that sub atiattld failed; and he did not see why they '4!'s fo e c ; t h at length leave it to parishes to tax them bpt p.re Promotion of that object. th L 'GLIS and L d J RUSSELL rase together; 4 0 4 11 t e l a N t ° , b le Lord having or given way, the Hon. Baronet ..ghe e alter the speech of the Hon. Member for i ie ke otvi l i tbe temper and ability of which he readily v, 41. th e og.ed—he bad waited in respectful silence to mo ment Pinion of some Member of her Majesty's Go tterd 41 1 ° " the proposed measure. Preeeed`,,u.,SELL again rose , am id some l au ghter, tha t, °t' to _7 , with the p!rtuission of the Hon. uY OjtOrd 43 his ..}lncire,;s the House. The Nohle Lord said B_Friend the Member for the University e emed tO have expected that some Member THE et' her Mejesty's Goverment eliceild ti:?" and state whet. vh , w he tn , ok of the motion of tie i ion. Alt inb~. for (►lcihent, he Mil not liesitste to sa e :line, he hoped the lieu , e won ti nut refuse perm -e'er' th,, Honourable Gentleman to bring in his Thil.—(Hear.) He thought that no one could doubt, in the first place, the importance of the subject, :led, in the next place, no one could say that education was in such a state in England that no further measures tvere re quired upon the subject; that there was not much to be lamented in the present deficiency of the means of edue cation; that there was not much which good men de plored, even in the education which was given; and that there was not yet more to be deplored in the ab sence of education among the great mass of our people, whose instruction, and still more, whose training in re ligion and morality, deeply concerned the welfare of the whole community. It that were the , the only other question that reinained was, whetlitr the lion. Member for Olihqin had approached tha; subject in a fi,tieg spirit—(Hear, hear)—whether he had been deeply im pressed with the importance of the task be had under taken, and whether the object he had in view was to provide for the better education, net of one portion, not of one sect, hut of all clowns of the pe rple :n this ern pire.--(llcar.) lie thought every one should acknow ledge that the, spirit in which the lion. Gentleman had approached that question was one worthy of the sub ject—(Hear, hear)—that he had stated full and ably the present deficiency hf education, that he seemed clearly to perceive in what that deficiency con , sisted, and that whatever might be the merits of his proposal, his inclination was to produce a plan which should not excite jarring contentions, but should rather toad to unite the various opiniotis prevailing upon that subji et.—(Hear, hear.) If that were the case, he said, there was good cause to induce the House to agree to the request of the Hon. Gentleman that he should lay that 13i11 on the table of the House. As to the further questions, what were the difficulties which surrounded the subject, and whether the plan proposed by the Hon. Gentleman would overcome those difficulties, what was the manner in which the plan proposed by the Hon. Gentleman might be viewed by the public and by those who were at present engaged in the promotion of educa tion, and whose services in that cause the House was bound to honour, those were questions on which he thought it better not to attempt to express upon that occasion any imperfect views, which would not, perhaps, be correctly founded on the measure which the Hor. Member meant to introduce. He, thercfore, altogether declined to give any opinion at that moment with respect to the plan proposed by the Hon. Gentleman. That, he thought, was afar bettcr course, than that he should either commend that plan prematurely, or make to it objec tions which, after all, could not, perhaps, be founded on the merits of the case itself. This only he would say, that be thought that, perhaps, of the whole state ment of the Hon. Gentleman the part in which he most doubted the accuracy of the allegations was that in which he had alluded to the failure of the efforts made for the improvement of popular education of late years. His (Lord J. Russell's) impression rather was that al though the great efforts which it had been proposed that they should have made three or four years ago had not led to as large an extension of education as they had anticipated, yet it had been attended with a con siderable addition of its blessi:igs. Whether there was a failure at present in the desire and the means of carry ing on education, that again : would be a matter for sub sequent discussion. All he should then venture further to say was that he thanked the lion. Gentleman for the spirit in which he had brought that subject under their notice.—(Hear, hear.) Frequently as he had twee dis appointed in discussing that question, he could not but hope that, whether or nct the plan of the Hon. Gentle man should be adopted in the shape in which he had proposed it, such a plan of general education discussed with temper in that House might tend to advance that great cause in which society was deeply interested, and he should certainly cordially concur in giving his assent to the introduction of the Bill. Sir R. H. INGLIS said he willingly admitted the temper and the ability:with which the Hon. Member for Oldham had introduced the subject. But at the same time he could not coincide in the principles on which the plan of the Hon. Gentleman rest: d, or in the objects at which he aimed. The Hon. Gentleman had said that the question no longer was, whether it was or it was not good that education should be diffused. But the point on which he (Sir R. H. Inglis) was at issue with the Hon. Gentleman was as to what was education. According to the Hon. Gentleman it appeared to be the instruc tion of a man in those branches of learning which terminated with man in this world—(Hear, hear)—and the omission of every consideration of the eternal destinies of man, for which this world and all its concerns were bet a most fleeting preparation. The Honourable Gentleman had said that the education of the people was less advanced in this country than in Prussia, in Saxony, or in other continental countries. Bat he (Sir R. H. Inglis) thanked Heaven that the people of England were sufficiently educated to have saved us from the excitement which prevailed a few years ago in Prussia.—(A cry of " Oh' from Mr. B. Osborne.) he Hon. Member for Middlesex cried " Oh," but he (Sir R. H. Inglis) believed that the Hon. Member had reason, in common with the rest of the people of this country, to thank Heaven for the charac• ter displayed by its inhabitants on the 10th of April, 1848; and the people who had displayed that character mu.t, he fl It persuaded, in some way or another, have re ceived the advantages of a good education. He would not on the present occasion enter into questions of detail. Ile wished the House to bear in mind that they were asked to give their assent to a Bill which proceeded upon the supposition that a system of secular education was desirable for the people of this country. The Hon. Mem ber admitted that he did not wish to interfere with any existing system of religious education, but wished the education provided by the State to be secular or temporal. He admitted, nevertheless, that religious education was the greatest boon a child could receive --(Hear, hear) — and then to show how his arguments and his facts might he retort sd on themselves, went on to say that notwithstanding this gloat boon he could not but admit the practical conclusion to be a great increase of crime. Dlr. Fox intimat d dissent.] Did he misrepresent the Hon. Member? He stated as the result of the reports of the different gaolers and inspectors of prisons, and in specters of schools, that religious acquirements were no evidence of morality. Mr. FOX said his position was that you could not give real religious instruction unless you bestowed on the mind so much of other knowledge as rendered it a fitting soil to receive the germ. Sir R. H. INGLIS was willing to take the position as the Hon. Member had now put it, and could confidently refer to those schools in which a religious education was given, and ask whether secular education ens seen there coincident and in juxta-position? The Hon. Mem appeared to think that in those schools where religion was taught nothing else was taught. Now, though he never would consent to admit that anything could be put in competition with that which was destined to fit a child for eternity, yet he asserted that at that moment, in the greater part of the schools to which he had re ferred, and with which he was acquainted, 83 large a proportion of secular education was afforded as would be found in any other schools. This was a question of fact upon which he could only state his own personal conviction and belief. However, as there ap- peared teoe no intention to divide the House, he would merely recur to a proposition to which he had ventured to call the attention of the Government some time ago —namely, that they should make up their minds as to what encouragement they would give to lay members of the House of Commons, to amateur Members, in bring ing in these Bills. Lot no man feel himself aggrieved if the Government, on the first movement of any subject, should say at once, " This subject is good, and we ought to take it up; and this is bad, and neither you nor any body else ought to take it up." The time of the House would be greatly economised if the Government would thus interfere with the discretion of private Members. He did not mean to say that this subject was one on which the deliberate consideration of the House would be unwisely exercised, and he, therefore, would not refuse permission to the Hon. Member to lay his statement for mally in the shape of a Bill before the House. But he earnestly hoped that ultimately the House would not as sent to any measure which proposed to give the reci pients of education a system which terminated with this world, leaving them to acquire from their fathers and mothers—whose ignorance he had admitted—that know ledge on which their ultimate happiness depended. Mr. M. MILNES agreed with the Noble Lord at the head of the Government in thinking that it would be better to postpone the discussion of the question till the second reading of the Bill, and would nor, therefore, re ply to the arguments of the Right lion. Baronet who had just sat down. All that would be admitted by allowing the Bill to be brought in would be that religious and secular education rested on different grounds. The ore was capable of advancement and encouragement, and the other not, and therefore the State might legitimately interfere in the one, though not in the other. Mr. HUME applauded the course pursued by the Hon. Member for Oldham, who, to prove the inadequacy of the present system, had not depended on his own know ledge, but had referred to the most able and independent authorities. He denied that his lion. Friend had advo cated a system of secular • education alone. The Hon. Baronet had asked what was education? He had always considered it to be that mental training which fitted a man to be a good member of society, and a good life led to religion. Neither had his Hon. Friend proposed any system of State education, but merely that property should be made locally available to supply the deficiency which existed in the education of the people. He hoped that all would co-operate in so modelling the Bill as to secure a general scheme of education for the coun try at large. Mr. PLUMPTRE had understood the Hon. Member for Oldham to state that the deficiency of education was so great in this country that not above one child in thirteen of the rising genwettion enjoyed its advantages. Whether he had rightly collected the words of the Hon. Member or not, he evidently thought the education of the people at the present time very deficient. The Hon. Member very liberally stated that it was not his intention to interfere with schools already established, whether in connexion with the Church or otherwise; but his intentions were prospective; he merely wished to fill up the gaps. Ho wanted, however, tc know from the lion. Member what plan he proposed to introduce into his new schools. If he understood him rightly, his schools were to be open to the children of persons of all denominations, but there was to be no religious instruc tion whatever, and the children were to be left to such instruction as they could get from their parents or others. The population of the districts in which these schools were to be raised up, however, the Hon. Member pro posed to tax 4id. or 61. in the pound.—(No, no.) All he could say was, that if such were the plan which the Hon. Member proposed for the education of the great mass of the rising population, he for one most solemnly and religiously protested against it. Mr. B. OSBORNE quite agreed with the Noble Lord in thinking; that the most judinian course would be not to enter into details on the present occasion. In fact the way in which the details had been JAisunder stool 'bowed that they wore not in a position to dis cuss, theft:. He cond.' .cur t howd-an r, i fea,in from paying the humble tribute of his prole to the whole, east(,nsive, and t3tatestnanithe view taken of the subject by the Hon. Member fur Oldham. He was sorry to add one word of bitterness to the discussion, but be must take this oppor tunity of proving that he had had the hAactit of some education by expressing his sorrow for having allowed an involuntary " On" to escape him when the Hon. Ba ronet the Member for the University of Oxford insti tuted the parallel between this country and Prussia, which, coming from so good an historian, he was sur prised to hear. The Hon. Baronet might have told them that as in Prussia there existed a highly educated pi. °pie without a representative government, the natural caurse OF events was to upset that state of things in which, in fact, there was taxation without repre sentation.—(Hear. bear.) The Hon. Baronet 'went fur ther, he alluded to the 10th or April. Now he remem bered but one passage in history to which that rebellion could be likened. and thiit was the rebellion of Lord Grizzle in Tom Thumb. The Hon. Baronet asked what was education? He (Mr. Osborne) had had, he would not say the honour, because he regretted that he had ever bran there, btr, he had boon a fnember of one of the Universities. Ile was sent, there to receive, not educa tion, but instruct'on, and he knew not any year in his life which he more wished to forget, and when h. reflected on all the vice and the little horning which ho saw while he was at Cambridge, he looked on the two Universities as great hindrancc sto all proper education. He was the more inclined to support the scheme proposed, because he saw in it a strong assimilation to what he thought the be•t mode of education—namely, the national system in Ireland; and in conclusion, he could not help suspecting the philanthropy of that man who would deny the people education save on the condition of instilling into their winds his own particular prejudices. Mr. NAPIER was rather surprised to hear the Hon. Member for Middlesex fasten on the University of Cambridge the bad habits which he appeared to have acquired.—(Cheers and laughter.) Although the Hon. Member might have found opportunities for indulging in vicious pursuits, ho might also, it was to be hoped, have found occasion for the development of virtuous habits.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member had adverted to the Hon. Baronet's observation as to the conduct of the population of Middlesex on the 10th of April, but perhaps the intelligence of that district might be judged of by the representative they turned out and the one they put in. The House would have an opportunity on the second reading of the Bill of fully discussing the whole system of national education; and he trusted that the same spirit would be preserved which had marked its introduction.—(Hear.) He concurred,in some part of the Hon. Mover's views, but differed from him at that point where he wished to separate seoular from religious education. The proceedings of the association were of great importance. He had looked into its pro ceedings, and had derived much advantage from it, be cause, although there were many things with which he could not agree, still he thought it best to do like the:bee and extract all the food that was to be found there. In Manchester a meeting was called a short time since, for the purpose of discussing this very question, and a pro position was submitted to it in the spirit of that brought forward by the Hon. Member for Oldham, and yet, after full discussion, an amendment was carried of a very op potite character. He hoped sufficient time would be given for full discussion, and he thought it better that a Bill of this kind should he brought forward by a pri vate Member than by the Government, as the latter might, perchance, invest with a party character a ques tion which ought to be calmly and patiently considered on its own merits exclusively. In conclusion, he could not but express his satisfaction to see an endowment oroposed and advocated by the advocates of the volun tary system.—(Hear.) kr:COCK CAIRN regretted the allusions made by the Hon. and Learned Member for the University of Dublin to the Hon. Member for Middlesex, as it was desirable to avoid all personal and irritating topics on a question of this nature. This much, however, he would say of the constituency of Middlesex, that with the integrity aul intelligence of their present Member they had every reason to be satisfied. He felt called on, as a warm supporter of the general principle of the measure, to en ter his emphatic protest against the view which the Hon. Baronet the Member for the University of Oxford had taken of it. He denied that it was a system having re ge.rd only to the concerns of this world. He did not so understand it.—(Hear, hear.) The Honourable Mem ber for Oldham to him appeared as deeply impressed as any man, that if you could combine religious with secu lar education, it would be most desirable far the State to do so. Why, then, were they separated? Because it was found impossible to combine them in one sys tem, as it would be impossible to obtain the con currence of either the Established Church or the Dissenters. But it was said that religious education was by far the most important. lie freely ad mitted it ; but if you could not, as a measure of national education and policy, have both, was that any reason why you should not have one?—(Hear, hear.) Did the State at this moment maintain any sys tem of State education? None whatever. Schools were established by the exertions and contributions of individuals; and was there anything in this Bill to pre vent the continuance of the system? Certainly not. Would any one contend that education in this country was in a more forward state than in Prussia? At all events would any one deny that the education of the people of England was very far from what it ought to be?—(Hear, hear.) Mr. W. MILES reminded the House that in 1839 a proposition was made to separate secular from religious education. What did the country say to it?—(Hear, hear.) Was there not a cry raised against it from one corner of the kingdom to the other? Did not the Church of England and Dissenters alike approach the House with petitions, and did not a Noble Lord, now a member of the other House (Lord Stanley), bring forward a mo tion against it, and though in a minority, did he not very nearly carry his motion? Did not the Archbishop of Canterbury move certain resolutions condemning the principle then brought forward? It was not his inten tion to enter into the question. He should be happy to look at the Bill, which he hoped would be discussed with the same good temper and toftearance which had marked the present debate. Nothing would do more good than a general discussion upon the whole system of educa tion, which he should like to see settled by Act of Par tial/lent; but while he was prepared to discuss it with temper and forbearance, he would not sacrifice one iota of his opinions. _ _ Mr. LAW was very glad that an opportunity would be afforded for discussing how far en interference with education could be justified by a body not immediately responsible to Parliament. With reference to the Hon. Member for Middlesex, he had not understood him to assert that a good education could not be had at Cam but that a good education might turn out fruit less.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member, however, must have made up for lost time, for he never could have sat in that House as the representative of Middlesex, unless he had taken great pains to become at a late what he night have become at an earlier period.—(Hear.) re.r. NE WDEGATE wished not to misunderstand the jon. Member for Oldham. As he understood him, the inspection was to be carried into the secular education ,f every school of every denomination, and on the re port of that inspector as to insufficiency, it would be competent for the Government to establish schools on the principle proposed by the Hon. Gentleman, and to rate the inhabitants. Mr. FOX said the Hon. Member had in part mis understood him. The foundation of his plan was the d.ficiency of education in different localities. The means of ascertaining those deficiencies already existed to a great extent in the documents which the Committee of the Council had accumulated by means of the reports of he inspectors. In a district such as that under the care of the Rev. Mr. Dawes, in Hampshire, to whom the 41ause of education was under such important obligations, the task would be easy enough. His national school was conducted in such a manner that not only all the children of the parish, but even those out of the parish, attended it; farmers' children and labourers' children sat together, and received the same instruction; and all the inspectors would have to do in such a case would be to report that the education was satisfactory. Where all the inhabitants of a district were of the same religion, they might incorporate religion as much as they pleased; but the case was different when the population con tained members of various denominations. He did not mean that religious education should not begin till secular education had finished; on the contrary, he meant that they should go on together, continuously and concur rently; but he could not think that mountains and stars taught infidelity, or winds and waves heresy. He did not wish to press the measure through the House, and would conclude by fixing the next stage after the Easter holidays.—(Hear, hear.) Leave was then given to bring in the Bill. JURISDICTION OF COUNTY COURTS. Sir G. PECHELL presented petitions from Brighton n favour bf the motion of the Hon. Member for Lewes. Mr. FITZROY having presented petitions in favour of extending the jurisdiction of the County Courts from Berkshire, Birkenhead, Chichester, and Lewes, said, in moving for leave to bring in a Bill to extend the juris diction of the county courts from 201. to 501., it was not his intention to trespass on the House at any length. The principle for which he contended—namely, cheap access to justice, had been already conceded in the estab lishmen of these county courts. No doubt it was desir able at first that the sum should not be a very large one, in order that sufficient experience might be obtained of the working of these courts ; but, he believed that it was within the knowledge of any gentleman who knew anything of the subject that the results had been most satisfactory to all parties interested in the working of these courts.—(Hear, hear.) Indeed the public had already given its verdict in favour of these courts--(Hear, hear)—for it was known that the number of suits that had been already brought into these courts, although they had been only three years in existence, amounted to considerably more than I.,ooo,ooo.—(Hear, hear.) The proportion the suits in these courts bore to the suits tried in the courts of Westminster Hall was not less than four to one. The great objection that he understood would bo urged against the motion he was about to submit to the House was, that it svould affect the interests of the legal pro fession; and he had no doubt that their profits would be considerably diminished. Although of course he had no wish to see the profits of any class of men reduced, yet it was desirable that they should not give such encouragement to the heaping up of legal expenses as would be a practical denial of justice to a large number of the community. All ho asked of the House was to extend to the creditor of 501. the same protection that was already extended :to the creditor of 201. He would mention one or two cases to show the inconvenience of limiting the jurisdiction of those courts to 20/. There was now be fore the court at Colchester a person on his petitition as an insolvent. He was the plaintiff in an action—his cause wa I at the bottom of the list, and he and his wsses had been kept there a whole week. Th 3 conse quence was, that although he got a verdict for 321., the acaogat of his demand, with 1201. costa, and although he AY EYRNING, FEBRUARY 27, 1850 was a successful plaintiff, he was a . linie.r to the amount i.he CoSt"; 11,1ving amouated to 1801.; arid, to ed ditiou to tlitst. the cost of an ir t2rpleader, which ;vas 20/. more, reduced tam to the condition of an insolvent Was it desirable that he should be told to surrender 12/. of his debt because the county eosin had only jurisdiction in cases of 20/ ? The next case was that of a succesful defendant, the question being whether the plaintiff had or had not sold to him a certain quantity of chemical proearationF. He was a succesful defendant to the amount of 50/., but his costs amounted to 801., and the plaintiff told him that the law•suit had cost him 300/. —(Hear, hear.) The last case he should men tion was one in which the plaintiff; although he re covered the full amount he claimed, lost 591. 1 is. 2d. Tie only real objection that could be made to his pro position was, why should they stop at 501.—why not at once make the sum unlimited ? So far as he was concerned he should be at once prepared to assent to that, but he believed there must be 80111,3 arbitrary limit. His reason for proposing a limit of 501. was, that he should thereby get the support a many Hoc. Members who would not otherwise support him. lie appealed to the House to ask any respectable solicitor whether he would advise his client to go into one of the superior comes of law to recover 50/. Ha believed nothing was of more frequent oceurrence at present than to have this amount 01 the claim reduced so as to bring it within the jurisdiction of the county court. The Hon. Gentle mm referred to the remarks of a morning paper on the subject of the Licit courts in India in corroboration of his views, and also to the observations ma le by the Attorney. General in the course or the last session, when he (Mr. Fitzroy) proposed a similar measure to the present. The objec tion then taken was, that there should be an appeal. begged to say that the present Bill did contain classes for the purpose of givi ng an appeal.—(Hear.) With regard to the objections urged by Sir G. Grey on a previous occasion, he would remind the Right lion. Baronet that it was not so much speedy justice which these courts secured, as it was the affording the poor but honest defendant an opportunity of paying the debt by instalments. The Hon. Gentleman concluded by moving for leave to bring in his Bill. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said, as it seemed to be the wish of the House to receive the Bill of the Hon. Gentleman, he should not interpose any objection to its introduction.—(Hear, hear.) He felt it his duty, how ever, although he believed he was taking an unpopular course, to point out the objections he entertained to the principle of the Hon. Gentleman's measure. The cases referred to by the Hon. Gentleman of sums cf 32/. and 42/., would be equally applicable to sums of MI. and 52/., and it might to-morrow be urged as a hardship that these also could not be recovered in the county courts.— (Hear.) The sum of 20/. had been fixed upon after very long and earnest consideration, and there were the strongest possible reasons for fixing the maximum at that sum; 201. had been laid down by thejudges of the superior courts as the sum for which a man could not be arrested— that was fixed as the sum which was unworthy the ex penses of litigation. The measure, as it at present stood, had been in operation two or three years, and h a d g i ven , he believed, v e ry genera l satisfaction. What effect the extension of the jurisdiction might have in enabling parties to obtain an extension of credit, by the facilities of recovering it would hold cut, remained to be seen. At present the county courts were little more than an experiment, and he urged the House not to interfere with them unnecessarily. If an appeal was given in the higher courts, he apprehended the law would not work satisfactorily. A ga in, there was the right of examining the plaintiff and defendant on their oaths—that might work very well with regard to small amounts, but in larger sums he feared it would be too much for the honesty of the parties. If an appeal was once given in all cases above 201. they would destroy their efficacy, and they would dissatisfy the large body of suitors who came before that court to recover smaller sums, by showing that there was a different law for the poor and the rich. It would, in his opinion, shak e the confidence of th e public, and violate the principle on which they were established. In his posi tion he could have no personal feeling or interest in the matter. At the same time ho did not mean to object to tne introduction of the Bill; but he could not pledge himself to give it his sanction at any future stage. He thought the principle the Hon. Member wanted to intro duce was a most dangerous one, and unless they heard some better arguments than had been urged by tho Hon. Gentleman that night he hoped the House would not be induced to adopt the Bill. Sir G. PECHELL said, originally no one was so strenuous an advocate of the measure as the Hon. and Learned Member for Chester. When he had introduced a measure for the purpose of extending the jurisdiction of the Sheriff's Court to 50/.,* the present Lord Chan cellor had supported him, and Baron Rolfe had assisted him in introducing it. The fact of many parti es aban doning a portion of their claims in order to bring the debt within the jurisdiction of these county courts was the best proof of the estimation in which they were held, and the popularity they enjoyed. He hoped the Hon. Member would be successful in carrying his measure. Mr. CLAY supported the Bill. The Hon. Gentleman had not stated whether ho was to extend the appeal t ) all debts, or to those onlyabove 201. He did not think the additional burden thrown upon the superior courts by these appeals would be of so much consequence as that great weight of business that would be taken off these courts by the transference of business to the county courts. Mr. HENLEY regretted to find that the Hon. and Learned Attorney-General had given his sanction to the introduction of the Bill. It would be only consuming another night in discussing its principle, if the Govern ment was prepared to throw it out at a uture stage. It was admitted on all hands that these courts bai worked extremr.ly well, and so sure as the sun was in the hea vens, if they extended their jurisdiction they would de stroy their utility. It was on that ground that he opposed the measure. He wished to know whether Hon. Mem bers whj were disposed to do away with imprisonment f.,r debt for all sums under 201. were disposed to extend it to 50/.. or to ell sums? If they did so where were they to stop? He regretted, under these circernstances, that if the Governmert had a strong objection to the Bill they had not at otice thrown it out. Sir G. GREY had great doubts as to the expediency of extending the jurisdiction of those courts. He had last year stated the grounds on which he objected to ex tending the sum from 201. to 501. Mr.TITZROY—That Bill was without an appeal. Sir G. GREY admitted th a t th ere was that differ encJ, and it was impossible also to deny that there was a strong feeling in the country in favour of the . exten sion of the jurisdiction.—(gear, hear.) The difficulties, however, that beset the question would be best seen when they had the Bill before them, complicated as it was by the proposition for an appeal and the admission of a bar, and the other attendant circumstances of ordinary courts of law. The principle of these courts was only com patible with the adjudication of small stakes. He should be curious to see what was the extent of the appeal which the Hon. Member proposed to give. If the appeal was to go to the superior courts, the whole value of these jurisdictions would cease. H e en t er t a i ne d grave doubts as to the policy of disturbing the present arrange ment, because he believed that aey step of the kind they system of jurisdiction. t )ok would utterly destroy th e value an d ut ili ty of that Lord D. STUART was glad the Government did not intend to oppose the Bill, and that th e y were t o h ave an opportunity of discussi ng i ts principle more at length. He hoped that in a futur e stage it might find more fa vour in their eyes. i He co ns id ered it exceedingly de sirable that the jut sdiction of these courts should be ex tended. He found, by returns that had been laid before the House, that the proportion of cases under 20/. and between 201. and 501, tried in the superior courts of London and Middlesex, was extremely small, and that was a strong argument in favour of the extension of the jurisdiction. He regretted t h e Government ha d not taken up the question. But if his Hon. Friend did not succeed he hoped he wou l d move for a Committee of inquiryinto the whole of t h e subject, which was one deserving the serious attention of the House. Mr. H. BERKELEY took very much the view of the Attorney-General with regard to the effect of the pro posed measure. He feared that the extension of the ju risdiction of these courts would materially affect their utility and value. It was very doubtful whether it would be possible to admit the bar to such a court without first altering the nature of the judges. He trusted that the Government would not y i eld an inch from the position taken up by the Attorney• General. Mr. MULL INGS, as a ret i re d pract i ca l l aw y er , wou ld give his cordial support i n f avour o f b r i ng i ng i n t h e Bill. He did not, however, agree with the Hon. Mover, that all the great expenses incidental to the superior courts went into the pockets of the attorneys. The pleadings alone were en ormous to bring the case to an issue. The parties went down to the assizes with all their wit nesses, having previously given enormous fees to their counsel. They were then often obliged to wait for seve ral days before the cause could be tried. For all these proceedings the attorney did not get one farthing beyond the money he expended; and a: last he, perhaps, had the pleasure of recovering 501., after having incurred an expendi ture of 601. or 70/., while the unhappy plaintiff had probably to pay 40/. or 501. by the way of extra costs. He thought that these county courts had conferred the greatest benefit upon the country, and that benefit would b e cons i derably i ncrease d by extending the jurisdicti on of them to claims of 501. He hoped that the proposed measure would also go so far as to b r i ng i n equitabl e matters, which in the ordinary course of things did not come within the cognisance of a court of law. He did not think that there would be any difficulty in allowing appeals, provided the party so appealing was required to give security for costs. Mr. J. WILLIAMS said it was not an uncommon thing in the trade to which he belonged to sue persons owing 301. or 351. in the county courts, the claimants thus consenting to abandon the excess over 20/., in order to render it recoverable in that way. But the effect of this was to give encouragement tofraudulent debtors to refuse payment until they were compelled by these courts, being thus assured of b e i ng a bl e to ge t rid of their liabilities in an easy way. Great injustice would be done to all such claimants if the jurisdiction of these courts was not increased. Leave was then given to bring in the Bill. BRICKS AND TIMBER DUTIES. Mr. HUME then rose to move that thi s H ouse, taking into consideration the condition of the cottages of the labourers of thi s kingdom, and the want of adequate accommodation for their families, is of opinion that a drawback should in future be allowed on the bricks and timber employed in the construction of cot tages the rent of which sh a ll be under 41. per annum, us a means of lesseni ng th e ex pense of their erection. He hoped that the same unanimity as bad exi s t e d i n t h e discussion upon th e p rev ious question would prevail in the consideration of the present motion. Early in that session he took an o pp o rtunity of reminding the Go vernment that if they had any money to spare it might be applied with great advantage in such a way as to give effeet to such a proposition as the present. Much to the credit of the House and the country a strong dis posi4en wets manifested recently to pay attention to the r. c ,- .rnfort and to the health f the hitherto-neglected poor and classes. With that view a board of hea.H, had been appointed to remove every nuisance fleeting the health of the community. Local Acts were also passed for the purpose of attaining this desirable object. As, for example, an Act was passed fur Liver pool to prevent the occupation of apartments below the surface of the ground. They had re ceived reports from every part of the country as to the manner in which the working people were ' lodged. These went to show that the moat valuable portion of the community—the labouring classes—upon whom, after all, the prosperity of the country depended, had been neglected in a great degree by the Govern ment, who had the direction of everything that affected their health and comfort. The expense of building cot tages was so great as sf?riously to endanger the moral and social condition of the people. He had visited within the last two months many of the cottages of the labouring classes, and he found in some of them families of eleven and twelve children brought up without any separation so recessary for the promotion of decency and morality. Speaking generally, ha was informed that there wasi a duty of ten per cent, levied upon the value of bricks. When they looked at the dweltireo of the poor they could seam ley blame the father of the fc- Indy for withdrawing from it oeca,ionally to seek for uzrcater comfort, which was afforded him in tn.! public house. Ho was thus inducel to spend his money upon intuxleating drinks, leaving his family destitute and unhappy. There were from 26,000,000 to 30,000,000 gallons of ardent spirits consumed by the popula tion. This enormous consurnttion could only be ac counted for by the fact that there was no inducement to the working man to remain at home, for he had no comfort or enjoyment at his own fireside. The poverty and uncomfortable state of his house tended to alienate the man from his abode, and to leave his family desti tute. At the early part of the session he put in a word for these classes. It was well known that many poor men who earned but 9s. or 10i. a week could not afford to pay more for their lodging than Is. a week. It was also well known that one of their little cottages could sot be built for 501. or 60/. He wished the duty to be re moved from bricks altogether. He was satisfied that if this duty were removed the benefit would not be con fined to the poorer classes; the advantages would be felt by all classes. By the return which he held in his hand it would appear that the amount of duty received for the last ten years from bricks was, on an average, 481,3181. a year from England, and 13,440/. from Scot land. He did not wish to limit his observations altogether to bricks, for it was of equal importance to the health and comfort of the people that the window duty should be removed; and he was sorry that his Noble Friend (Lord Duncan) had not had an opportunity of bringing forward the question that night. The Government, in their endeavours to carry out their sanitary mea• sures, ought to see that these duties upon windows and bricks were calculated to thwart and stop that progress that they would otherwise make in the im provement of the health and condition of the people. Looking at the low wages, and the want of comforts among the working-classes, he was astonished they were able to manage as well as they did. The removal of this and other taxes would add greatly to their comforts. On this ground he hoped the House would express its opinion in favour of his motion. Upon the question being put, Mr. LABOUCHERE said, the Hon. G en tl eman had frankly stated what was the intention of this motion— namely, to elicit the opinion of the House as to the duty on bricks; and that the duty on timber was, to use his metaphor, in the same boat. Now it was deemed right not to pledge the House to any particular remission un til they had heard the financial statement of his Right Hon. Friend. But if the House were not of that opinion, he said he would oppose the motion on the terms in which his Hon. Friend had stated in his mo tion. Who was to define what cottages cost? He had seen them built at great expense, and which certainly could have no claims for exemption. He thought in a case of this kind there ought not to be a drawback, because if granted it would open the door to a great deal of fraud. If there were, too, a drawback upon timber for cottages, then they would be asked for a draw back upon timber used in ship-building and in mines.— (Hear, hear.) Then he doubted very much the policy of encouraging the building of a low class of cottage. He mentioned these things to show what caution should be used in cases of this description.—(Hear, hear.) As to the remission of duties on bricks and timber, it would be contrary to his duty on this occasion to express his opinion. Until the announcement was made by his Right Honourable Friend in his financial statement he would not pronounce an opinion one way or another, and he said it would be premature for the House to de clare its opinion as to a remission of taxation on any particular matter. This motion was on its own merits inexpedient, and ought not to be adopted; he, therefore, opposed the motion. Mr. DRUMMOND thought the conduct which it was proper for a Minister of the Crown to pursue in such a case as this was not that which was most proper for a Member of the House to adopt. When the financial statement bad been made, then Ministers would say that the case was then made up—that it was then too late to listen to any other proposal.—(Hear.) He believed it was not the intention of the House to do injustice to the poorer classes—that when injustice was done it was be cause the House was not aware that it was doing injustice. (Hear.) If the relief now asked for were granted, he admitted that it would not be universally felt, because it would be of no use in the northern and other parts of the country, where there were abundance of mate rials for building; there were, however, other parts of tle country, and especially those with which he was best acquaint al, on which this relief would confer a very great benefit. A gentleman anxious to build cottages for the poor could not do so at a less expense than 100/. each. In such places, a tradesman from a neighbouring town could build the same sort of cottage, let it for 10/., and the occupier made the rent by letting the rooms to whole families, and thus, while the gentry were endea vourint- to give three rooms to each family, the plan was destroyed by some adjoining tradesman. In consequence of lessening the size of farms, he foresaw that there must be a very great increase of farm buildings. Now, much expense was caused in building by the high price of bricks. The tax increased the price of bricks by two thirds. In some places the benefit would be very small, in other cases it would be very great. He hoped in sup porting this motion there would be no sneer against him and others of having ulterior motives, in voting for a repeal of the tax, which they would vote for, because they conceived it would be an essential relief to the agriculturists. Now, he voted for this, though he did not vote with the Noble Lord against the window duty they must have houses —there was no use in windows without houses.—(Laughter.) He would oppose the remission of any tax which did not bear directly upon the working classes. He said he did not want to em barrass the Government; but he said if they wanted money, let them not take their taxes from the poverty of the country.—(Hear.) Mr. VETO supported the motion. He could point out cases where 20 persons were found occupying two rooms. He believed the remission of the duty on bricks would put an end to this evil. Until it was at an end there could be no classification of the poorer classes. Lord C. HAMILTON was glad the Hon. Member for Montrose had brought this subject before the House; he only regretted he had not brought it forward in a more comprehensive manner. There was no question that more materially affected the well-being of the work ing classes than this. Lord Chancellor MARQUISES. Brendalbane Clanricardo Donegal EARLS. Besborough Carlisle Charlemont Craven 'Mr. MITCHELL said, if the Hon. Member should go to a division on this subject, he would support it. He differed in the opinion that had been expressed on this subject by the Right Hon. the President of the Board of Trade, that such motion should not be brought forward until the statement of the Chancellor of the Exchequer had been made, and no proposal for a remission of tax ation submitted to the consideration of the House until then. At the present moment a drawback was allowed on all timber used in the erection of churches; and he did not apprehend that, with a vigilant control, there would be any danger of fraud if a drawback were also allowed upon bricks. Should the Hon. Member for Montrose again bring forward his motion, however, he trusted that be would give the: House some idea how fraud was to be avoided. Being of opinion that a good case existed for a revision of this tax, he should sup port the motion of his Hon. Friend. Mr. R. PALMER agreed with Lord C. Hamilton upon the prudcnce of not pressiug this motion at this moment. But he was strongly of opinion that it would be exceedingly advantageous to repeal the duty upon bricks altogether, and that such a measure would be quite as useful as a repeal of the window-tax.--(Hear.) It the Hon. Member intended to confer a benefit upon the owners and occupiers of small cottages, he would be doing so to a much greater extent by proposing the total repeal of the duty upon bricks than by this proposition for allowing a drawback. Mr. HEYWORTH supported the motion, and ob served that he thought this discussion would lead, ulti mately, into a general revision of the duty upon every article that entered into the consumption of the people. Mr. HUME, in reply, said that his object had been to ascertain the opinion of the House, and it appeared that that opinion was decidedly in favour of an entire and total repeal of the duty.—(Hear, hear.) He was not much in the habit of proposing half measures, and in doing so in the present instance he must confess that he had signally failed.—(Laughter, and hear, hear.) The Hon Gentleman then intimated that, with the leave of the House, he would withdraw his motion. Motion withdrawn accordingly. MANAGEMENT OF RAILWAY TRAFFIC. Mr. RICARDO moved for leave to bring in a Bill for the better regulation of railway traffic. The Hon. Mem ber briefly alluded to the numerous inconveniences which were attendant upon the present system; the want of uniformity of tolls—the danger incurred by the pas sengers in having to change carriages upon their journey —the manner in which the " points" were worked at the junctions, and other evils and inconveniences; and said that the object of his Bi4l was to provide an efficient remedy with which Hon. Members might make them selves acquainted immediately upon the Bill being printed.—Leave given. Viscount EMLYN moved for leave to bring in a Bill to amend the laws relating to highways in South Wales. Mr. C. LEWIS admitted that there did exist certain reasons why the highways in South Wales should be under a separate system of management, and being of that o pinion he would no t oppose the motion of the Noble Lord.—Leave given. EXTRA-MURAL INTERMENTS. Mr. LACY moved for leave to bring in a Bill for pro moting extra-mural interments. The Hon. Gentleman said he dared say some Hon. Members would be startled at his project; but the proposition was simply to allow railway companies, with the sanction of the Railway Commissioners, to hold cemeteries. lie proposed that, after having obtained the approbation of tho share holders and the Commissioners, these companies should be empowered to purchase a sufficient quantity of waste land at a convenient distance, say twenty-five or thirty miles, from the metropolis, and thereon construct a ce metery. He was convinced that no one general ceme tcry would be sufficient for the metropolis ; arid that by giving the different coppauies this power, it would Le for !to public benefit, at the same time that the conapit nies themselves would find it to be a good commercial specchttion.—(Laugh:ar.) Sir G. GREY had not very clearly collected the real purport of the Bill of the Hoc. Gentkman from the ex planation which he had given; but, in principle, he thought that to empower railway companies to become cemetery companies was moat objeationable. As the whole question must come before Parliament at a very early period, when the report of the Board of Health would be before them, he trusted the Honourable Gen tleman would not for the present persevere with his Bill.—(Hear.) Lord ASHLEY said that last year the duty was en trusted to the Board cf Health of preparing a scheme for the consideration of Parliament on this subject, and that that scheme had been prepa7ed. But he was sorry that it wa, not yet in the hands of Hon. Members. it would be ready in a few days, however—be hoped to morrow or Thursday morning —Ind until it wai before theta he thmtight the House should not proceed with the consideration of the Bill of the Hon. Member for Bod min. Mr. LACY merely wised to bring. in his 13W, in order that ic might he set n and considered side by side with the report of the BJard of Health. Hs believed ihat the House would upon consideration, that wittiout such a measure Rs he propo=ed they would never be laic to carry out any compubory Act for preventing hit rments in cities and town;.—(flear, hear.) Mr. WYLD was surprised that tie Homo Secretary should have opposed the introduction of a measuie of this kind. He thought his Bill would not clash with any recommendation which was likely to emanate from the Board of Health. He therefore moved for leave to bring in this Bill. Mr. LABOLTCHERE said it was always an ungra cious task to oppose a Bill on the motion for leave to bring it in; and it was so in this case, especially where the Hon. Gentleman had directed great attention to the subject. The Hon. Gentleman had done him the honour to convey information to him from time to time as to the objects he had in view, but he felt it to be a duty ho owed to the House, as the result of that information, to say that he thought the House ought not to allow this Bill to be brought in. He thought the Bill was founded on principles which the House never could sanction. He was opposed to thrusting upon the Railway Commis sioners functions which were so foreign to their sphere of operations. He really thought there was no chance of the Bill passing a second reading. Mr. AGLIONBY did not think the Bill was open to the objections which had been stated by the Right Hon. Gentleman. He begged to ask the Hon. Gentleman whether there was any compulsive powers to take land, or whether the powers were permissive only ? If the powers given were only permissive, why wait for the re port of the Board of Health? Hitherto in all legisla tion on the subject they had been bound by considera tions of pounds, shillings, and pence, and the interests of those who were to receive burial fees. Mr. LACY said his object was to make the major part of the powers compulsory, the minor powers might be taken as compulsory. Mr. M. J. OtONREI 4 „L thought that the report of the Sanitary Commissioners should be laid before the House before any measure of the kind was brought in. He thought the Hon. Gentleman would best consult the convenience of the House by postponing the motion till the report of the Commissioners, which the Noble Lord the Member for Bath had stated would be on the table in a few days, was fairly before the House and the country. AN IloN. MEMBER hoped the Hon. Gentleman would not divide. After a few words in explanation from Sir G. GREY The motion was withdrawn. THE BOARD OF TRADE. Mr. MOFFATT moved for an address to her Ma jesty for a return showing the names of the members of her Majesty's Privy Council constituting the Committee appointed for the consideration of matters relating to trade and foreign plantations ; the functions of the said Committee ; the number of members of said Committee that constitute a quorum for the dispatch of business ; the number of times the Committee met in the twelve months ending Dec. 31, 1849 ; and the number of mem bers of said committee that attended each meeting. This motion was made on account of the present alarm which prevailed in consequence of the new and extensive powers assumed by the Board of Trade. Great anxiety was felt to know what really were the functions of the Board of Trade. Mr. LAB° UCHERE said if he objected to this motion ho assured the Hon. Gentleman it was not from any wish to refuse the information required. But no Parliamen tary grounds had been made for the production of this return. He could give the names of those who consti tuted the Board of Trade, and everybody knew that the Court Circular would give this information. The func tions of the board had been fully described by Mr. John Lefevre, and he (Mr. Labouchere) objected to give the information in the shape of a return. It was not the practce of the board to transact business as a board, though it included numerous members of the Privy Council, &c. The usual course of business was trans acted on the single responsibility of the head of the department. Mr. MOFFATT said that after what had fallen from the Right Hon. Gentleman he was satisfied. Motion withdrawn. The orders of the day were then read:— COMMONS ENCLOSURE BILL. Read a third time acid passed. PROCESS AND PRACTICE (IRELAND)-SALA RIES AND COMPENSATION BILL. Committee thereon. House resumed. Report to be received to-morrow (this day). Mr. FOX brought up tau Sicuhr Education Bill, which was read a first time. The House was adjourned at Twolve o'clock. ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSION BILL. HOUSE OF LORDS, FEB. 25. The following is a list of the Alinoiities on the - Eccles'. astical Commission Bill : FIRST DIVISION. Devon Grey Granville Minto Strafford Waldegrave BARONS. Ashburton Campbell Colborne PAIRS. Lord De Freyne Earl of Suffolk Lord Milford Marquis of Anglesey Lord Dufferin BARONS. Dunally _ _ Eddisbury Elphinstone Foley Monteagle Sayo and Set© Sudeley Wodehouse Wrottesley Marquis of Salisbury Marquis of Londonderry Lord De Lisle Earl Somers Lord De Res SECOND DIVISION. Lord Chancellor EARLS. MARQUISES. Granville Dunally Breadalbane Grey Elphinstons Clanricarde Mixt° Foley Donegal Strafford Saye and Sele EARLS. Waldegrare Sudeley Charlemont senoss. Wodehouse Carl,sle Campbell Wrottesley PAIRED AFTER THE FIRST DIVISION. Lord Monteagle Earl of Cardigan Lord Colborne Lord Walsingham Lord Eddisbury Earl of Malmesbury BARONN. TO THE SECRETARY OF THE BRADFORD REFORM ASSOCIATION. Sir,—On Monday the 25th, an extraordinary scene was enacted in the Mime of Commons, by the persevering opposition of the anti-Ministerial side to the progress in Committee, of the Bill for increasing the number of voters in Ireland. The ground stated, was the absence of some Members at the Irish As sizes. Of course each side thought it was taking a prudent course ; though the prevailing opinion seems to be, that eight divisions with increasing majorities on the part of the Government, ranging as high as 24 to 1, were a charitable mode of doing away with any damage which might have been received from the smallness of the majority on a preceding evenit lg. The result, however, was, that not one strep was gained towards the progress of the Bill. if any body in Ireland is disappointed, he must set it down to the politicians who could not stir a step without their men at the Assizes. In the early part of the evening, the Government made some damaging admissions, received with shouts of laughter by the House, on the subject of not issuing the pieces called florins. If the Government had their wits about them when they withdrew from the coins a stupid phrase, con demned long since by the good sense of our ancestors, why did not they stand to it, and who were the parties before whom they quailed ? If they knew they had not the courage to resist the outcry which bigots and serviles might raise, why did they volunteer the occasion ? It is this building of walls to run their own heads against, which has ever been characteristic of the Liberals in the Go vernment. But if the Government have no plan, their enemies have. It is all portion of a scheme for representing them as what the bigots call " godless," and so proceeding from less to more, for the chance of any retrogression towards the illumination of the middle ages. On Tuesday a motion for removing the duty on Attorneys' Certificates was postponed, in a way which was not considered us favourable to ultimate success. The hardship in this case appears to be, that a particular class should be subjected to a duty on the exercise of their calling, when they pay all the other taxes to which m em b ers o f t h e co mmunity are sub ject. Th e pl ea some ti mes urge d, th a t they throw the duty on th e i r em pl oyers , is of the ordinary classf fallacie s with w hi c h q u e stions of the incidence of tax ation are encumbered. bri T n h g e in m a ot ß io i u ll o f f the orth Member e prohms for 0 0 l f d hamfr leave Secular o Educa tion, to was successful t o t fullest extent. A result undoubtedly to be attrib - l u i t t e a d in t t o ro t d h u e c a ti b o l n e a w n a d a c c o o n n: ciliatory manner in which ducted by the mover. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, AN OLD REFORMER. London, 27th February, 1850. GENERAL STEAM NAVIGATION COMPANT.—The 50th half-yearly general meeting of this Corporation was held yesterday at their offices, 71, Lombard -street; John Wilkin, Esq., in the chair. The directors' report and a statement of the accounts of the half-year ending the 31st December last, were read to the meeting. The report having been unanimously adopted by the proprie tors, the usual dividend and bonus were declared, when the meeting separated, highly gratified with the con tinuing prosperity of the company. it' FROM THE LONDON GAZUTTIP OF TUESDAY. BANKRUP CS. Abraham Wheeler, c; . .hinetinaker, Buckingleant i 'to surreuder March 12, at half-past eleven, and Apps[ - U,_-_-- at one, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Johnso4official Basiughall-street ; Shuckburgh \Rlsley, Doughty-street, Mecklenburgh-square. Janes Starkey, carpenter, Old-street, St. Ige Pf s m : March 12, at two, an d Apr i l 16, at eleven, at the un - ' L of Bankruptcy. Edwards, official assignee, Satnbrook court, Easinghall•strcet; Hine and Robinson, Charter house•square. Charles Joseph Carttar, solicitor, Greenwich, March 12. at helve, and March 26, at eleven, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Stansfeld, official assignee ; Nias, Cop thall-court, Throgmorton-street. John Borryhill Cross, watch maker, Cornhill, March IC, at one, and April 13, at eleven, at the Court of Bank rtipofficial ass i gnee, Basinghall- stre ic,n t.cy ;r: Henrietta-street, Johnson, etta-stree Covent -garden. John Dale Woodcock, calandercr, Leude, March 12, at ,an l April 9. at ett.van. at the Leeds District Court. u.zigtiee, Lceds i Middleton, ds. Go.rge Meth w 2, intsic Mulimouih March 1 2 and April 9, at eleven, at th e Bristol Dio.'riet Court Acraindr. assignee, Bristol ; Nicholas, Mon.. cumuli; 12esans, Bristol. Lotiii Bernard Chefliti, bo,kseller, Bristol, March 12 and A pail 9, at eleven, at the Bristol District Court. Milie', official assignee, Brist )1; Srrangways, King's- - Gray's Inn; Whittington and Gribble, Bristol. DIVIDENDS. In the Country. L. Elliott, jun., Rochdale, Lancashire, chemist and druggist, March 21, at twelve, at the Court, Manchester —S. Taylor, Poynton, Chester, butcher, March 21, at eleven, at the Court, Manchester. PAYMENT OF DIVIDENDS. H. G. Astle, 6s. 4d.. on Feb. 28, or any subsequent Thursday, between a even and two, at the office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall-chambers, Basinghall-street. E. Mumford, 55., on Thursday, Feb. 28, or any subse quent Thursday, between eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall-chambers, Basinghall-street. L. Alexander and W. Bardgett, first and second divi dends of 2s. 2d. and 6d., on new proofs, on Thursday, Feb. 28, or any succeeding Thursday, between eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall-chao , bars, Basinghall-street. B. F. M`Queen, Is. O'd., on Thursday, Feb. 28, or any subsequent Thursday, between eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall-chambers, Basing hall-street. W. H. Trencher, ss. 10d., on Thursday, Feb. 28, or any subsequent Thursday, between eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall chambers, Basing hall-street. M ue i n n t to T n h , u l r s s . d s i t y d , , be e t n w e T e n h u e r l s e d r a el; , a F n e d b F. t 2 w B o , o at r a t n h y e subsequent office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall•chanabers, Basinghall street. J. Parrish, did., on Thursday, Feb. 28, or any subse quent Thursday, between eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall•chambers, Basinghall-street. G. W. Wheelhouse, York, banker, 35., on Tuesday, Feb. 26, or any subsequent Tuesday, between eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Hop, Leeds. E. Ryder, Birmingham, jeweller, BF., on any Friday, between eleven and three, at the office of Mr. Whitmore, Birmingham. NOTICES OF CERTIFICATES. At the Court, Basinghall-street. L. Davy, King-street-terrace, New North-road, and J. Davy, South-street, New North-road, builders, March 22, at half-past one—R. Jones, Castle-strut, Holborn, commission agent, March 21, at eleven—W. Tyer, Gos port, boot and shoe maker, March 20, at twelve. In the Country. J. Dixon, Liverpool, grocer and tea dealer, March 21, at eleven, at the Court, Liverpool—J. R. Wright, Leeds, currier, March 21, at eleven at the Court, Leeds—B. Ramsden, Dewsbury, Yorkshire, bone merchant, March 21, at elcven, at the Court, Leeds—G. M. Cowley, Not tingham, bill broker, March 22, at ten, at the Court Not tingham—J. Bowers, J. Bowers, and Sarah Ann Bowers, Worcester, grocers, March 25, at twelve, at the Court, Birmingham. CERTIFICATES GRANTED. F. Burt, Plymouth, boardinghouse keeper, bookseller, and stationer, certificate of the thi r d class—H. Pinhey, Plymouth, grocer, certificate of the second class—T. Martin, Nicholas-square, Hackney-road, licensed victu aller, certificate of the second class—J. Reid, Edgware road, Bexley-heath, Woolwich, Rochester, Chatham, and Maidstone, draper —J. Addington, London-road, South wark, oil and colourman and varnish manufacturer, cer tificate of the first class—W. A. Reeves, Maidstone, cabinet maker and upholsterer. certificate of the first class—J. King and J. F. King, Well-row, laling:on, builders—E. L. Blackman, Lombard-street, tailor—J. Morrison, Craven-street, Strand, tailor, certificate of the first class—R. Belson, Norwich, plumber and glaizer, certificate of the third class—J. Ward, Bishopsgate Within, chemist and druggist, certificate of the second class—H. Bennett, Chatham, corn dealer, certificate of the second class—J. Turnbull, Scarborough, Yorkshire, linen and woollendraper, certificate of the first class after twenty-one days from Feb. 21-11. Corbett, Madras, merchant and comission agent, certificate of the first class—R. Gibbs, Birmingham, and Northfield, Wor cestershire, corn dealer, certificate of the first class. PARTNERSHIPS DISSOLVED. H. Fawcus, sen., 11. Fawcus, jun., and J. Stephenson, Seat.am, Durham, ship brokers—T. Baughey and L. Allkins, Newport, Shropshire, bendwaro and turnery manufacturers—J. Laycock and J. N. Hanson, Bacup, Lancashire, iron and brassfounder—H. G. S. Borth wick and G. A. Wilson, Newcastle.opoi.-Tyne, met chants—J. Murton and L. Murton, Sharples and Man chester, bleachers—D. Braosty and W. Nanner, lia,ing stroke, corn dealers and m ill ers --A. M'Concell and A. Forsyth, Monks Coppenhall, Cheshire, drapers—T. Chattaway and M. Chattaway, Birmingham, carriers— W. Tucker, sea., W. Tucker, j un., and T. Tucker (so far as regards T. Tucker), Datchet, Buckinghamshire, butchers—Mary Ann Murray and Sarah Mort, London wall, ostrich feather manufacturers—T. Laycock and J. Jackson, G ate Helmsley, Yorkshire, proprietors of the Gate Helmsley Retreat—F. Wilson and J. W. Swale, Hanway-street—F. G. Spray and G. Nevett, engineers —T. H. G. Snowden and L. A. Pollock, Ramsgate, as torneys—W. H. Bensted and C. Higgins, Maidatone, hoymen—E. Tomlinson and S. Cooper, Walsall, Staf fordshire, ironmongers—J. Scatterthwaite and S. Jack son, Ulverstone, Lancashire, ironmongers and grocers— R. Battersby and J. Telford, Liverpool, ironfoan ders—J. Edwards and E. J. Scraggs, East Dereham, Norfolk, painters—J. Baker and W Baker, Bristol, tilers—S. Druce, P. Lord, and J. Sheldon, Ensham, Oxfordshire coal merchants —W. Richards, J. Richards, and R. Richards (as far as regards R. Richards), Penzance, mercers and drapera— J. Pickering and G. Alexander. Wilson•street, Fins bury, dyers—H. Ancell and C. Fagg, Norfolk-crescent, Hyde-park, Grove-road, St. John's-wood, and Church street, Lisson-grove, surgeons—S. Billingsley, jun., W. J. Miall, and 0. J. Williams (so far as regards W. J. Miall), Harwich, shipping agents--J. Hudson and R. Hudson, Hartlepool, Durham, ship brokers—E. H. Jones, W. J. Jones, T. B. Jones, R. G. Jones, A. Jones, and I'. Jones (so far as regards E. H. Jones, W. J. Jones, T. B. Jones, and R. G. Jones), Birmingham, iron founders. INSOLVENT PETITIONERS. Henry Phipps, Southnewington, Oxfordshire, gardener. David Thomas, Cardiff, Glamorganshiro, painter. John Spencer, Loughborough, Leicestershire, horse dealer. Merena Edwards, Wem, Shropshire, farmer. John Wildon, Great Driffield, Yorkshire, tailor. Joseph Nicholson, Great Driffield, Yorkshire, cooper. Thomas Grimbly, Stratford-upon-Avon, commercial clerk. Frederick Fisher, Soave near Brookland, Kent, farm bailiff. Robert Palmer, Cullompton, Devonshire, mason. William May, Yatton, Somersetshire, auctioneer. John Backnell, Hockworthy, Devonshire. John Milsom, St. George, Gloucestershire, servant. Walter Carter, Bristol, commission agent. William J. Come, Chatham, tobacconist. William J. Youlton, Bristol, accountant. John Hickmutt, Rochester. Henry Dawes, Great Malvern, Worcestershire, coach proprietor. David Wood, Huddersfield, Slubber. SCOTCH SEQUESTRATIONS. W. Ferris, Anstruther Eastate, Fifeshire, dealer in shares and printseller, to meet within the Albert Hotel, C an u jAd p . ; H3B -l oal i wti f a e i te , ah,tri Feb. neGeel a 2 s B g oayrn undertaker March and ,a t one. hirer, to meet within th e Alb ert T avern, Glasgow, Ma rch r d e , ' Edn M i ti lL se rg ib h ur ti h' rc g h roc 4 ander to meet at eettw within two. J. Smart, El g i n, builder, to meet within the Royal Hotel, El g i n , M arc h 4 an d 25, a t on e. March the Star H o t e l J. C. Reddie, Edinburgh, insurance broker and writer tEodtihnebusriggnhe, Marcht, to meet 4 and 2 eetwithi s, within t a h t e tw offi el c v e e. of Cay and d Black, THE NEW KOVEL, by the author of " The Disci Aline of Life," entitled "Pride and Irresolution," is published this day by Mr. Colburn, and may be had at all the libraries. A lso, 2. The Scuttish Cavalier, by James Grant,,Esq.,,author of " The Gordon Highland e r s , t h e e d r edition. &c. 3. Adventures o f a G oidfinde r , writte n by him self. 4. The Petrel, a Tale of the Sea, by a Naval Otlioer., 5. The Wilmingtons, by the author of " Emilia Wynd ham." 6. Passages in the Life of Mrs. Margaret Mait 7lanLdeoofnSarudnnNyoSrmidaen, d w a r i i e t t ; e no or, Theherself, Brothers Three sec the Hon. C. Stuart Say ile. , ion. by [ADVERTISEMENT.] —INTRAMURAL INTERMENTS. —The important repurt of the Board of Health; the remedies stated and recommended, on which the Bill will le founded for the consideration of Parliament,were carefully abridged and originated in last Sunday morn ing's Observer, to the extent of four folio columns and a half. The Observer is regularly published, at four o'clock on Sunday mornings, in time fJr all the early Sunday morning railways. On Sunday next, March 3, the Observer will be printed with an entire new type, from the foundry of the Messrs. Figgins. Price of the Observer, 40 columns, 6d. [ADVERTISEMENT.] — An Awful Bad Leg, with 15 Wounds in it, Cured by Holloway's Ointment and i Extract of a l e tt er from Mrs. Sarah Eastment, of Haselbury, certain unfavourable symptoms loway. Sir—About six years ago h i c h proved to be acre near Crewkerne, dated April 16, 1849. To Professor Hol loway, themselves in my left leg, there - were 15 wounds in Cheltenham Hos pital, and King's evil, and at one time as 1 e t ; be fr y o from ailthenceeffect e w e e t n a t about my ancle. For four months I ti'er° home a completecripple; p t o i tal , King'san therecoll College e on H o o u s n p c i e ta d l , as n cur: l a w s h o cure, and I was obliged to return . in this state I commenced using your Ointment and Pills and i at Professorichhave perfectly Hollowaycuredm s I leg. Sold Establishment, b 244, $ by all Druggists, Lowden. ~~ z