Northern Times. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-01-25 00:00:00

ROBERT BURNS. In Edinburgh, in London, in Liverpool, in Glasgow, in Manchester, in Bristol, and many other great cities and tom ; in little hamlets ; among Highland glens, and Lancashire moors, and Irish mountain villages, the Memory of Robert Burns will be pledged this night. Probably in every country of the civilised or half-civilised World, some voice will sing or murmur some lines of Burns V3.lli ght• Wherever, throughout the earth, there are t ongue, or th ree gathered together who speak the English n gue, the name of Burns will be uttered. At the P: :ibiinettelirgi: banquet it will be proposed to a company of authors, and men of eminence and genius ; and in poor public-houses, scattered through cities and over eoun roads, hands will stretch out to clasp other hands When the refrain o f " A u ld l a ng syne" is sung. No undue honours are thus paid. The memory celebrated to-night Is that of the greatest poet of the people ever born into t he world. No man, probably, save only our own Shaksp a ere, ever equalled Burns in the breadth h is Popularity, among the rich and the P o or, the scholars and the know-nothings, Let any One who d ou bt s it run over in his mind the names of the greatest poets out of the four literatures of_ mod ern Europe, and ask himself which of them ever fo und such an equality of honour among the great and the small of the 'world. The most accomplished scholars a nd the most appreciative minds of our days, have never round better 'expression than when they illustrated the geni us of Robert Burns ; and the poor peasant has never sung with more heart and energy than when he roared in the chorus of one of Burns' ballads. The popularity of an era would, indeed, be a poor test of genius ; and so, too ) would be, in many instances, the appreciation of mere scholars and men of laboured refinement. But the singer who can secure the hearts and intellects of all a llke, , and whose fame is only spreading abroad, rising an d•deepening, half a century after he has been laid in earth, may bid defiance to time and rain -storm, and be reckoned among the immortals of the world. If Robert Burns looked great among those of his own century, it must be remembered that it was not as Gulliver seemed a giant among the Lilliputians. Were theliterature of the world, like the globe itself, divided into five great sections, the century in which Burns lived might fairly claim to be classed as one great division. During that century lived some of the greatest world poets of history. What a noble list of names will rise to the lips of every one who thinks for five minutes over that period Scott and Byron, Wordsworth and Cole ridge, Shelley and Keats, Goethe and Schiller, Alfixri, and many others , which will occur to every one, down to Beranger, the latest called away, and Uhland the:last yet living. No man among them all had the special inspiration of genius more unmistakeably breathed into him than Burns. His songs were slight and light indeed, but they were slight and light as was the arrow of Prince Ahmed in the fairy tale, which shot so far beyond all the others, that its true range was not dis covered until many of its predecessors had rusted in earth ; and when found, it led those who sought it on to a palace of inexhaustible riches and wonders. These little songs float along in the middle air, and are borne w i t hi n human sight for ever, while pon derous, laboured productions have found the ground by their own dead weight, and having been gazed at for awhile there at last sank into it and rotted, and were forgotten. Many poets excelled him in many things, bmuatrs7,as the g rea t es t popu l ar s i nger i n th e wor ld, no must attempt a contest with him. P eople are fond of comparing Burns with some other poets Of a kindred class. He has been frequently likened 1 14 11°111 u Moore, to Dibdin, to Beranger. He was not t any of t hese_certainly not like either of the first ao—in more than merely accidental characteristics of it .. -- , geni tis. lie sang of love and of his native country, ~.'(1 0 in this regard, but scarcely in any other, was like mas Moore. No poet ever was more true to simpli tcoiftoyk and to nature than Burns ; and scarcely any ever greater liberties with both than Moore. So much Moore's poetry is made up of rich mosaic orna luentation, periphrasis, and conceit, that a translation of some passages into plain language—such as Jean Paul Richter was once urged to produce of his works— would, discover many an exquisite poetic grace w hich now lies hidden and •erushed under its weight of adornments. With many reasons to incline us to a partiality for Thomas Moore, we cannot put him side by side with Burns. S ome qualities of Burns' genius resemble, in simple strengthbadail_m ballad-muse homely manly p a thos, th e s t aunc h English of Dibdin ; but the scope of Dibdin was so immeasurably narrower, that, on a general and whole comparison of the two, the points of similarity are lost. All the qualities of universality and of infinitude are Wantin g to our sea-singer. Beranger is in many of his natural gifts a fitting rival of Bu rns. As a popular singer he comes nearer to Burns than any other modern. Both poets had tender glimpses o f exquisite pathos ; manly feeling ; savage, painful force of satire. "Holy Willie's Prayer" is just such a piece ferocious sardonic humour as " Le Bon Dieu;" and "A Man's a Man for a' That" scarcely surpasses in brave inspiriting independence the stout self reliance, the honest scorn for ennobled mean ness which rings in "Je suis vilain et tres yilain.:" Many other points of resemblance might be suggested ; one indeed will occur to most readers which it is not pleasant to allude to. Burns did not alway s write of women as he wrote of " Highland Mary," and we all too well know what kind of piping `Faun his fellow poet often beeame. In Burns, on the whole, we find truer simplicity, passionate depths far deeper ; a more heartfelt sympathy with nature ; glimpses of a higher aspiration, and a more spiritual purity and almost sanctity of pathos, than in even the most exquisite specimens of Beranger's exquisite minstrelsy. The early companionship of the hills and the fields and .the daisies brought out de e p e r an d t ruer f ee li ng th an th a t of the light-hearted male and female groups who laughed and sang in the famous " garret." There is another and a greater poet than Beranger, enius seems to us to have in its wonderful variety of phases some which are closely affined to many of the greatest attributes of Burns. Can we anywhere find ballads like some of the Scottish poet's—as short, as simple, as rich in varied feeling, as graceful and as tender, yet as clear and strong ? .It seems to us that in many of the ballads and lyrics of Goethe will be found such affinities to the genius of Burns. The few lines we can now write allow of no critical comparison, even if such a thing were 'at all in place at the present moment And in these columns. But any one who likes can follow sut the parallel for himself, and will perhaps be surprised to find how much more of justice there is in it than he at first imagined. 'The force of genius and of nature makes two men, so widely differing, for a moment kin. They touch at one point, like two circles, and meet no more. Quite enough, indeed far too much talk has been made about the moral character of Burns as a man. We may dispense with any severe lessons to be drawn from Such a source upon an occasion like the present, and it is quite certain that public virtue will not suffer from any leniency of the kind, seeing that there will always be moralists enough to keep people's minds alive to the errors of everygreat man who is dead. It is consoling to think that Burns' failings have been in general extravagantly over rated ; and it is, indeed, obvious that if he had been the drunken idler some good people like to represent him, he never could have produced a series of poems not more remarkable for the spontaneity of genius than for careful and elaborate culture and finish. We celebrate to-night ° !klY the poet, not the ploughman or the exciseman. And even if we must be morally critical, we should r emember that there are other sins besides love of dunk—that there is other foul speaking besides that Which waywardness and )seated blood . produce. We are not excusing the errors of Burtis. Indeed, even if we were, it is tolerably certain that very little harm ever was done in this world from too much excusing of the errors of the dead. But it is quite well to remind readers of the fact, that all modern morality seems to mean merely the avoidance of two vices drinking and dissipation ; just as all modern wisdom seems to point to mere personal prudence and household economy alone. Let us remember that a man may dislike ardent spirits, and never dream of dissipation, and yet be worthless, dis honest, utterly mean and deserving of hate. Let us recollect that a man may take good care of his money, lay by in the Savings' Bank, consider the ways of the ant, make full provision for all rainy days, and yet be a lavish fool and very prodigal of that which cannot be gathered together in hoards and secured in bank-books. Remembering these things, we may be a little lenient to • the other forms of vice and folly into which the rare temptations and the rarer gifts of Robert Burns sometimes betrayed him. Most truthfully does Thomas Carlyle say, when pleading for Mirabeau, " Hate him not—nay, you cannot hate him, for the light of genius was in him, which never yet was wholly base or hateful." Indeed, the noble quality of poetic genius is, that its influence for evil, even when it is thus distorted, is but slight, while its power for good is exhaustless. Leaving the merely artistic question out of sight, let us ask which are the influential songs of Burns ? Are they those which speak lightly of women and affectionately of drink—or are they those which stir up manly feeling, which warm anew extinguishing friendships, arouse compassion for feeble and helpless objects, awaken sym pathy for all the creations of surrounding nature, set the patriotic emotions of the heart all glowing—" strike with their wand in dry and dusty places, and bid the living fountains gush and sparkle ?" • Let us be content with thinking that all we have now to, concern ourselves with, all we are called upon to-night to honour, are just those qualities of the being called Robert Burns which he had not in common with other men, and which alone leave deep and lasting power—power neither belonging to nor ending with his personal identity uvon earth. There is no smell of the public-house lamp about the " Cottar's Saturday Night ;" no smack of the whiskey noggin in the lines to " Mary in Heaven." We are glad to find that very few indeed of the festivals of to-night are arranged upon so narrow a basis as to be confined to " Scotchmen and the sons of Scotchmon." Appreciation of Robert Burns does not come by nature or hereditary descent to Scotchmen ; and Scotchmen must indeed form a very poor estimate of the position their national poet holds in literature who would cabin him up to Scotland and themselves alone. This is infinitely more nonsensical than the " Ireland for the Irish" cry, which has happily cried itself to sleep long ago. Robert Burns belongs to us all—his fame indeed folds in the orb of the earth•. What Englishman would ever think of a Shaksperian celebration limited to Englishmen ? We might as well expect the Greeks to accuse Mr. Gladstone of an outrage upon their national property, because he published a book about Homer. But, however these things be, it is gratifying to find that material, money-making Liverpool can leave commerce aside for one night, and bear a part in the national honours paid to the memory of a mere poet. This year seems peculiar in similar events. A few days since a public celebration took pl ace in Germany, to welcome the ninetieth birthday of a still living popular poet, the venerable and eminent Arndt ; and later in the year all the German's fatherland will pay fitting honours to the memory and the centenary of its illustrious Schiller. Liverpool, which is so ready to welcome living celebrities, no matter what odour their fame exhales ; which hangs out its triumphal arches to honour titled warriors, where even enemies cannot accuse it of hero-worship ; and which is so often somewhat injudiciously hasty in conferring its rewards upon supposed commercial success Liverpool will do something towards its own purer reputation by adding a spray to the wreath which the nation lays upon a great poet's grave. ;elf, with 3ry varied an air Oft and " Ot t A and site' ? xquisitelF; racter an " Fern stinguishe a very • ustrunient . )d, but the :TT —Las t Liverpo°' oral soiree? t. Ther e tea. °° Brien, .r Callaghaar 's ; Father d Messrs. )r. Burke! • George Ld Messrs• The NO ,e eveniDy executed• rough a utensil t he 113 a who Wet proceale a a 11 1 ° 5 _, I t ce hullo; ;th afd might w e is of the " :- ) crune to raj order' ley intro; name (/' successor was cod" viccissl• More Pr° - incruishea ch of S!' Cho sent:r PrOpOnmSeti; use. 1 " he Greilt 1 ude d " P 2 a E n g lis Proposed by Rec; :die of ,eraory w_ N ers of thu eobl i " ras at a 13t2 _Jt th' ling, ,:-, t Assoc is d r g e 11es the pl at l lunt, „_' Imonsoor Lfter teit rit. who this yen t •otesta e r A UCh were e ; r, Rey. t ,re, is hair' rvis b f(hiss t. prese°i ;.y 1139 C,. ;antlr g ; Gar e I tl Itch ° Collllt't Cries ;ked t h e j [ sholl` i r led P. tbr e er D Oth libertt . 11 -jat110; serf f ruths n reh, tlie 0 ,ed so cterit e f. . 1311: 'f S t " de o r t " h . 0 0 rig . 4 1 bitoP VESTRY MEETING AT BIRKENHEAD Yesterday morning, a meeting of the parishioners of Birkenhead, in vestry, was held in the Abbey Chapel, Birkenhead, the Rev. A. Knox in the chair. The chair man having to leave, Mr. Richard Bryans was called on to preside. There was a crowded attendance. The purpose of the meeting was to establish a burial board for the township in accordance with the various acts relating to the burial of the dead. Mr. Craven, jun., explained that he had been invited to take up this subject, because the cemetery committee of the commissioners, who had devoted their attention to the subject for many years, had been unable to carry out the Commissioners' Act. There was nothing now to meet the case but a resort to the provisions of the Public Burial Acts. One clause gave them power to appoint a burial board, and that body could join with the burial boards of other parishes in providing one common burial place. The expenses of carrying out the act were to be paid in the first instance out of the poor-rates, but there was another clause which gave power to the board to borrow money of the Government, to be paid back in fifty annual instalments, interest being paid on the balance at 4 per cent. The cost of the cemetery he could not state accurately, for it was impossible to do so. There could be no secrecy about the proceedings of the board, for any ratepayer could go and copy any of the minutes, and the board could not buy a piece of land where they thought proper, or at any price they thought proper, but must come to the vestry and have their consent to any recommendation. Dr. Baylis moved that the following gentlemen consti tute a burial board :—Messrs. Edward Bevan, W. R. Mills, T. Gilbertson, E. G. Willoughby, W. Hinson, W. Henderson, T. Bradley, H. S. Bristow, and Joseph Craven. These names were a fair representation of the various religious bodies in the township. He would re mark that some years ago the Commissioners of Birken head purchased £60,000 to £70,000 worth of land for cemetery purposes, but had been unable to carry out their act, and he therefore hoped the burial board, when appointed, would negotiate with the Commissioners for the purchase of a portion of that land, and then the cemetery would be formed out of public land, and the money would go into the public purse. Mr. William Jackson, M.P., said the meeting was decidedly out of order, for the notice said the meeting was called for one purpose, and the law stated it should be called for two purposes. Mr. Townsend, solicitor, said the meeting was not strictly in order. Mr. Craven said the meeting was called to appoint a burial board, in accordance with "the several Acts of Parliament, from the 16th to the 21st of Victoria, both inclusive." Mr. Wm. Jackson submitted whether the parishioners present should not allow this question to be thoroughly ventilated in the township, and let the matter be taken up at the next Easter vestry. He did not look at this in a religious point of view, but as a sanatory measure necessary for the good and welfare of the public. Sub ject to proper regulations and management, he was in favour of this measure. Doctor Baylis was decidedly wrong in his statement as to the price of the land belong in.. to the commissioners—it was only £l3O an acre. He' thought they should consider whether they could not combine with the other townships, and have a cemetery that would suit the whole district. They had now a population of 40,000 to deal with, and, in a few years the interments in the township would be 800 or 1,000, a year. ''rhe Chairman advised the postponement of the meet ing, as it was not legally convened, and that a legally convened meetinc , should be held. Mr. John Laird believed nine-tenths of the people of Birkenhead did not know of the meeting that day. Every ratepayer would have to contribute to the cost ; and if the Act of Parliament were adopted now, it would result in a rate in perpetuity of 3d. in the pound. (No, no.) He believed that, to carry it out efficiently, would require that sum ; and he hoped the ratepayers would consider the question well. Personally he might tell them that he would have to pay in rates, for cemetery purposes, £l,OOO ; and therefore the question was one of such magnitude that it should not be hastily dealt with. Mr. Neilson suggested that the meeting should be postponed, and that a committee be appointed to wait on Lord Derby and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to get a charter of incorporation for Birkenhead. (Hear, hear, laughter, and " order.") Mr. irenderson said that a cemetery would cost the township about £20,000. Mr. George Craven said that a rate of id. in the pound would pity for the land. Mr. Ilinderson : And a 2d. rate would pay for the whole concern. After some conversation, tho meeting broke up, it being understood that a meeting should be called by the overseers, foi• the Oeilei4qat4ni of this question, abwit raster time. THE NORTHERN TIMES, TUESDAY, JANUAIV 25, 1859 SUGGESTIONS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF supply the means of teaching washing and ironing to the elder classes. An earnest teacher will not dread the degradation of soiled hands, if she comprehends her responsibilities ; and should she f a il to t eac h or to super intend, a well-instructed laundress would readily be found to give instruction during certain hours of each week. Common appliances —not scientific refinements which the cottager and many of greater means cannot procure—should invariably be introd u ced, if practical utility be aimed at. But public wash-houses are an immense boon to the poor, and the young should be familiarised with their resources. Again, the school house may be made to supply opportunity of instruction in economical preparation of food, and decency in eating it. (5) A simple dinner, prepared for - ,the teachers and pupil teachers and elder scholars, in the residence —or, failing a residence, in the class-room would give scope for plain cooking, by the addition of an ordinary kitchen range (6). In this department there are many persons in all large towns whose skill in cooking might be secured for a small weekly gratuity. Good food might be prepared for the sick and needy, and given or sold to them to diminish the expense (7). The making and baking of bread is a thing little known to the poor, or to young domestic servants, and should certainly form part of their early instruction. The teaching of these things would give opportunity for studying and forming character which the formal routine of school hours cannot possibly afford (8). It has been suggested that the houses of the managers of the school might give the opportunity of instruction in these matters, and in small parishes and agricultural districts this may be the case. But in large towns, the great distances from the school, of the residences of the managers, and the disincli nation of all persons concerned, seems to form an insuperable barrier to its present adoption. The appliances should connect themselves with the school, and so attract the, children to remain past the important ages of 1 2 or 13 years, when the mind becomes capable of acquiring, retaining, and applying knowledge of all sorts with greater aptitude (9). At a very trifling additional cost the instruction of females might be brought nearer to per fection, and the nation has mum to be grateful for the admirable letter of 11. M.'s Inspector, the Rev. F. C. Cook, adopted by the Committee of Council, in a circular to Managers of Schools, respecting the qualifica tions of female pupil teachers, in which the following passage occurs—" I recommend that no girl be appren ticed as a pupil teacher without a formal attestation from the shoolmistress and managers that she possesses reason able competency as a sempstress, and that at the annual examinations every such apprentice be required to bring certified specimens of her plain needlework to the,inspec tor, together with a statement from her schoolmistress, specifying whether she has been receiving practical instruction in any other kind of domestic industry," (10). The greater difficulty is found in giving such practical training to boys. In agricultural districts the field and the garden afford ample resources which do not, of course, exist in large towns (11). The plan of half-time agricultural labour, - so strongly recommended, has been adopted with success in several districts., A boy who labours in the field fora half the day now receives instruction at school for the other half day, thus continuing his education, like the half timers in the factories, to a much later period than formerly. In large towns the opening of evening schools is most generally recommended (12), and must be attended with advantage to those whose daily labour is not actually exhausting. A shipwright told the writer that two evenings of his week were passed in attending a drawing class for naval architecture, and the remaining evenings he found employment at home in perfecting his own knowledge and teaching his children. By such means the artistic power of the nation may be developed, an 4 Mr. Ruskin's suggestions on the Economy of Art may be practically carried out by our existing schools. Without greater energy of purpose than commonly; exists, you can scarcely hope that the masses will be effected, however, by instruction overhours, especially when the seductions of popular amusements carry 'young men away from their homes in the evening, ana probably great benefits would accrue directly and indirectly if boys had the opportunity of learning the elements of some handicraft in the school. A few workshops attached to each school would enable boys to learn the first steps in carpenters' work, tailoring, shoemaking, turning with a lathe, bookbinding, printing, or other industrial occupations. It is not, of course, to be supposed that a schoolmaster must be a skilful black smith, carpenter, &c., nor that any boy must necessarily follow the trade he selects, unless he choose to do so. But at the Chester Training Institution, a forge, a car penter's stall, and a bookbinding room, have been introduced, and a pupil teacher (a Queen's scholar) speaks with delight of the time he has passed as a bookbinder and that he hopes to spend in the forge. If useful to the teacher, how much more advantageous to the scholar, who is to earn his bread "in the sweat of his brow." More over, the Committee of Council offer assistance to the extent of one-third the working expenses, and point especially in their minute to the advantage bestowed upon future colonists, if they are early made handy in the use of tools, and familiar with trades which must be prac tised by themselves in their adopted homes. (13). That the time spent in this work is not lost to elementary knowledge, is proved by the fact that in schools where trial has been made, the industrial boys commonly excel in intellectual - acquirements. And time will be gained in one most important manner. A working man to whom the plan was suggested by the writer, remarked, " that it would be a great blessing, for a lad usually wasted the first year of his apprenticeship to a trade in learning to handle the tools from any good-natured workman who will take the trouble to show him." The minute of January 20, 1858, will be a great boon to school-managers - namely, " that in approving plans for the ereotion or extension of school-buildings, their Lordships will be prepared to take into account the area of rooms which may be intended for special instruction in drawing, mechanics, physics, chemistry, navigation, and natural history, as well as of rooms designed for elementary day schools of the common kind." The moral influences of such training are obvious. The natural restless energy of the child is called into active play, and he gains resources for occupying and amusing , himself during the long hours of evening at home. Moreover, the child stands a better chance of being a good workman at the expiration of his apprenticeship, and of so earning a sufficiency upon which to marry. In the early marriage of the provident working man is to be found a remedy for " the social evil " more effective than legislative enactments, or the power of the belted policeman, and a rescue from the inheritance of a diminutive and diseased offspring. "As arrows in the hand of the giant, so are the children of the youth."— Psalm 127, iv: The independence of a skilful workman will secure a maintenance for himself and family in Eng land or in one of the colonies, and so tend to improve the class of colonists. It is not requisite to enter into specific plans, which must be left to local requirements and resources, and to the zeal and industry of promoters. It may be deemed sufficient to have called attention to existing institutions, to the recommendations of the Committee of Council, and her Majesty's Inspectors, to experiments already made, and to the probable effects of industrial training when added to elementary teaching. EDUCATION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS A paper read before the Social Science meeting, in the educational department, October, 184 by the Rev. A. J. Tomlin, 8.A., curate of Liverpool : The minutes of the Committee of Council on Education form an interesting study to the philosophical and philan thropic friends of the great cause of popular education ; but they are little known to the public at large, and hence the widely-spread and practical benefits of the parliamentary grants are less appreciated than might be the case if the results were circulated amongst the vast mercantile and labouring classes who derive the advan tages directly or indirectly. The number of schools in England, Wales, and Scotland, actually examined by her Majesty's inspectors during the year ending August 31, 1857, on account of grants, was 4,369, containing 6,527 rooms, having separate teachers. The schools visited for inspection only were 1,029, containing 1,198 separate rooms. In the former schools the total number of children Present at inspections was In the latter 633,760 67,122 Total 700,872 According to the Decennial Report of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, the number of children in Church of England schools was 1,672,445. In the schools under inspection there are employed in the constant work of education 4,414 certificated teachers, and 10,943 pupil teachers. The probabilities are that tre number of scholars, pupil teachers and teachers, will continue to increase as the advantages of the system become more generally known, and the number of schools connected with the Committee of Council is increased by the attrac tion of the annual improvements, contrived by the large staff of her Majesty's inspectors, and confirmed by the sanction of Government. In Liverpool the number of children in daily attend ance at fifty-two Church of England schools is .... 13,319 Sunday scholars ........ Total .. . . If the slightest ray of light is a blessing, there is surely reason for gratitude that such a body of learned men, of qualified teachers and of willing scholars are busily employed in dispellinr , the darkness of ignorance by means so well calculated to impart knowledge. But knowledge though it is power, is not wisdom. To be really beneficial to its possessor, it must tend to make him beneficial to the - social community, and must therefore be applicable to the station he occupies. To educate a bricklayer, as if he were a Newton, would be as absurd as to condemn a Newton to follow the plough. If he is a Newton, his talent, the observation of the benevolent, the free institutions of a free country, and the directions of Providence will soon rescue him from a false position. Education must be suitable to the class and not to the exception, and the aim of education should be to fit the individual to adorn the station in which he is to find, and to diffuse, happiness, and to contribute his share to the social well-being and to the glory of God. The particular class of society reached by our National and British schools is the working class, the labourers, the artizans, and the domestic servants,—the children who, in ten or fifteen years, are to hold these ranks, and to become the hard-working, honest and respectable heads of families, or else the outcasts of a fastidious, if not a selfish community. In what way can you best educate this class ? How can you anticipate the force of temptation to evil ? How develop the natural gifts, refine the moral taste, cultivate the social faculties ? Turn to any publication of the day, and you will find this to be the real problem to be solved, what is the best, or approxi mately the best, method of enabling men, in their respec tive walks of life; to realise that they are men—body, soul, and spirit—and to fulfil the destiny . of animal, moral, and spiritual existence ? The inquiry is constantly made, how shall we educate the working classes ? If the consequent endeavour should unhappily take the direction of over-educating them it must lead to discontent, or to the destruction of the class, an alternative which no theorist in his study could seriously contemplate. Neither could he be content to perpetuate the brutal crime, the senseless indifference, or the rash insolence which is, in some few localities, too prevalent. He is driven, therefore, to seek the true remedy by educating the people in their station, and by imparting to the station its true dignity and highest functions. The cry of the present times is, " that servants are above or below their station," that " the houses of the poor are dens rather than homes," and that " the working man must be content with them as necessary evils rather than'as positive blessings." In each instance the desideratum is to restore a healthy, and therefore a happy, tone to the grades of existing social life. It is the object of one system of the benevolent to benefit the criminal by reformatories, and also to start the unfortunate children of paupers by industrial schools, pro perly so called, and God speed their efforts I But surely the child of the honest,laborions artizan, may command the sympathy and consideration of the good with no less reason than the penitent prodigal. And if you can prevent the leaven of evil from spreading, you have a great and sacred work before you. Prevention is, in this case, certainly better than cure ; and as in religion there must he an object upon which the affections can concentrate before you can hope. to wean men from earthly attractions, so in education your highest aim should be to present the varied phases of life with such aspects as will fill th• heart with the true love of its own condition and with real fitness for excellence in that condition. It is marvellous to observe the piety and charity which prevail in ranks where theorists might expect to meet only discontent and harsness. But it is not less strange to find how often the well disposed fall short of comfort, because their natural skill has been unapplied, and their adventitious circumstances have been misdirected. The absence of all education is well known to lie at the root of the grosser crimes. But reading, writing and arithmetic do not necessarily make a good workman, a diligent sevant, a frugal housewife, nor do they hinder crimes on property. It is impossible to overrate the advantages of the super ficial knowledge conveyed in the elementary school, when accompanied by habits of order and principles of sound wisdom and religious truth, but when the wear and tear of life present themselves, a practical knowledge of " common things "(1) is of inestimable value. In the house of the working man, the power of using some of the most ordinary tools would enable him to keep his house neat and in good repair, and so give interest to his dwelling ; the knowledge of an economical mode of spending and using his earnings, would enable the young wife to make him rich in his station, and would give her that pleasure in managing the house and the children which always attends upon skill and success. Is it then possible, during the period of pupilage, to impart the elements of useful and practical training as well as the ordinary routine of a national school ? In other words, can the vast existing organisation in the 6,398 schools aided by Government, be further developed, so as to train better the 700,672 children for the station in life they (2) seem destined to occupy ? This is the real question which the friends of education are considering, and upon its achievement the welfare of millions must depend. Now it is admitted that a system of industrial training, superadded to elementary training, would, in a great measure, accomplish what .is requisite (3) ; and it becomes a matter of vital importance to discover the best method of attaching it to existing schools, and surmounting the difficulties of expense, time, and the vis inerti which holds its sway over the minds of benefactors and parents and children. In the instruction of young females the difficulties are not great, because their future domain being the household, the usual acquirements may be taught in the residence of the mistress, if connected with the school, and if she is competent to teach. The cutting-out and making and repairing of useful articles of clothing now forms part of the training of Pupil Teachers in most of the training institutions. 'Wherever the mistress is deficient in this capability, -her place may easily be supplied by a competent sempstress. And few works of Christian kindness can be greater than the superintendance of a committee of ladies who can suggest improvements and throw the refinement and industry, prevalent in the higher classes, into the pliant minds of the young of the working classes. It is a well-known fact, that many young girls, on leaving school, become apprentices to milliners, and that ignorance and unhandiness too often lead to their being discarded by their employers. They are unfitted for household servants, are exposed to temptations, and soon swell the number of mercenary outcasts. Moreover, a young wife, instructed in making wearing apparel for herself and her children, has employment for the long hours in which her husband is absent, and is saved from the temptation to gossiping and intemperance, and economises much money, which otherwise falls into less deserving hands. By the addition of simple laundry apparatus, (4) the clothing of the school-children and their parents would (1). See Miss Burdett Coutts' admirable summary account o " Prizes for common things," 1854 to 1856, at the Whiteland's Training Institution. llatchard, Piccadilly, price Is. 6d. S.P.C.K., Is. 2itl. - . - - (2). Seem destined—By these words no idea of a fixed fate is intended, merely the estimate of the rank which Provid e n ce appears, in human judgment, to have assigned at any given time to any individual. If talent to rise should be granted, the ele mentary school should be tributary in scholars to the Collegiate School, as the Collegiate should be to the University. I would, in these words, suggest the best mode of guarding the young of the working class from taking the easy . step downwards from a higher to a lower rank, other means being open in abundance for those who have ability to take the more difficult step from the lower to the higher station of life. (31, See appendix B, Remarks of a Mistress upwards of twenty years eriFagod in Industrial Training, and G, School Economy, by the Rey'. J. G. Symons, p. 40. (4.) See 4'2404 F, Report .7f Astbury InQt46trlal School, 8 57-53. f 5). See appendix J, Report of §t. Mark's School, Windsor As at Royal Schools, Windsor Park 7). See Report of Sandbach.Sehools, (8). See appendix D, Rev. H. Goodwin, Dean of Ely, Letter on Cambridge Industrial School, minutes of council, p. 445. 1857. (9). See appendix K, School Economy, by Rev. J. G. Symons, and L, Report of Finchley Industrial School, 1855. (10). See appendix E. • (11). See appendix A, as at the Royal School, Windsor Park, and G, School Economy, by Rev. J. G. Symons, p. 40. (12). See Reports of Her Majesty's Inspectors, 1857. (13). See appendix 11, School Economy, by Rev. J. G. Symons. The Moore testimonial, at Dublin, is now being removed ; the pedestal is to be erected after a more appropriate and ornamental design, and the statue re modelled (as the local journals have it) "not being in accordance with the views of the sculptor." A few days ago the Bishop of St. Asaph was lying on a sofa at his palace, when a large picture dropped from its hanging on his head, and inflicted a serious wound, dividing the skin, and penetrating the flesh nearly to the bone. His lordship is at present going on favourably. From the daily papers, says the Athalceuni, it would seem as if there was small chance of her Majesty's Theatre opening this season, the establishment being still "to let." The above advertisement appears in the face of the most positive assertions and precise details circu lated within the last few weeks, at home and abroad, in public and in private, concerning the artists secured. There will be Italian opera, it is said, again this season, at Drury-lane ;—and there, too, we fancy, the wish has been noised abroad as the fact, in the list of the singers named—some of whom, we happen to know, are, as yet, " unattached" to any theatre. Among those said to be coming is Signor Mongini , a tenor of foreign repute. • EXTORTING MONEY.—An account was given some time ago of a young workman named Cottin and a servant girl named Poutriquet having been condemned by the Tribunal of Correctional Police to a year's im prisonment and 50f. fine each, for having sent a letter to a lady residing near Versailles, in whose service the girl had been, threatening to accuse her of adultery if she did not give a sum of 500 f. A day or two since the pair appealed to the Imperial Court to have the condem nation quashed on the technical ground that the offence was not swindling, as declared by the tribunal, inasmuch as they had not actually obtained either money or any thing of value ; the Public Prosecutor, on his The s i part, ap pealed for an increase of punishment on r e s ult was that the condenuiation on Cottin was raised to two years' imprisonment, and. that on the woman was coufirnied,—Galipan4 BANKRUPTCY COURT, it; re ELSDON PRINGLE.—His Honour (Mr. Com missioner Perry), delivered judgement in the case of this bankrupt, whose application for certificate was heard on Friday last. The judgment was as follows :—This was an application for the allowance of the bankrupt's certificate, made by Mr. Deighton, his counsel, and opposed by Mr. Conway, counsel for Messrs. Kennington and Chapman, creditors of the bankrupt, who have proved a debt against his estate to the amount of £1,871. The bankrupt was a shipowner, and had contracted with a shipbuilder named Keetley for the building of a ship called the Maria Needham, which was to be completed in April, 1857, and in which the builder had agreed to take twenty four shares. Some other friends of Mr. Pringle had also agreed to take shales, leaving,_ him only eight shares as his interest in the ship. Unfortunately, the builder first made an assignment for the benefit of his creditors, and afterwards became bankrupt. Thus the principal shareholder in the vessel was unable to complete his agreement, to take up the shares when the vessel should be completed ; and consequently Mr. Pringle would have, by no fault of his own, a much larger ven ture cast upon him than he had contemplated engaging in. Mr. Pringle had paid two several sums of £l,OOO, in part of the price of the vessel, to the assignees under Mr. Keetley's assignment, and to the assignees' under the builder's bankruptcy, Messrs. Kennington and Chapman, being sureties for the due performance of his contract by Mr. Keetley, undertook to complete the build ing of the vessel, subject to the terms of the original contract, by which a penalty of 1100 a mouth was to be payable for the non-completion of the vessel within the time originally stipulated for. The ship was not com pleted for eleven months and a-half after the time originally . stipulated for, allowing for an extension of time of one mouth granted by the bankrupt, i.e., until the 17th of April, 1858. The price of the ship was to be /16 a ton, and there were extras charged by Messrs. Kennington and Chapman makin g the whole purchase money amount to £7,361. The bankrupt having paid £2,000 to the parties representing Mr. Keetley, paid two further sums of £5OO each to Messrs. Kennington and Chapman, which were obtained by mortgaging the ship to Messrs. Bramley-Moore and Co. In March, 1858, some disputes arose between the bankrupt and Messrs. Kennington and Chapman, which were ultimately referred to arbitration, and an award was made early in the month of June, by which £1,060 17s 10d was proved to be due to Messrs. Kennington and Chapman, which, with costs, amounted to £1,165 10s. On the 7th of June, Messrs. Kennington and Chapman wrote to Mr. Ritson, the solicitor of Mr. Pringle, enclosing a copy of the award, and demanding payment of the amount found to be due to them. Mr. Pringle was away, and in an ill state of health. On the 9th of June Mr. Ritson wrote to Messrs. Kennington and Chap man, saying his client was ill, and away from home. On the 14th of June the writ is issued, which arrives on the 15th of the same month. Mr. Ritson ap peared to the writ for his client, whom he did not see until the 13th of July, at which time some con versation passed about the action, but Mr. Ritson did not think it right to trouble Mr. Prisgle much, as he was very ill. He thinks, however, he advised him to wait until Mr. Welch's opinion had been obtained, whether to defend the' action or not Time was therefore obtained to plead, and at last two pleas were put in, Mr. Welch's opinion not having been yet obtained. They were ultimately withdrawn, not in accordance with Mr. 'Welch's opinion, but on account of Mr. Pringle's position, which rendered it unadvisable to risk the costs of an action. The penalties due for non-performance of the ontract, as well as the amount of a bill for extras, were the subjects of dispute between Mr. Pringle and Mr. Chapman. I think, upon this state of facts, the defence pnt in to the action, and subsequently withdrawn, cannot be regarded in the light of a frivolous and vexatious defence, which was Mr. Conway's second ground of objection to the allowance of the bankrupt's certificate. As to the first ground, that he had been guilty of fraudulent preference in the instance of his daughter, to whom he had assigned his furniture on the 17th of June last, as a security for £3OO advanced in the month of November previous, and after he had, in March, resigned to her the tenancy of his house ; and also, that lie had made mortgages of ships, either after the action brought, the date of which was the 15th of June, or after judgment had been obtained in the action, which was sometime in the month of July. In the first place, it is fit that I should mention that Mr. Pringle was not declared a bankrupt until the 28th of October, 1858, a petition of arrangement pre sented by him having failed to be carried out, in con sequence of a proposal made for giving to Messrs. Ken nington and Chapman an advantage over other creditors. The bankrupt, therefore, does not come within the present provisions of the 256th section of the Bankrupt Law Consolidation Act, 1849, which require a period of not more than two months to elapse between the fraudulent preference, if any, and the filing of the petition of adjudication. I have therefore to consider whether, upon the general question of conduct, as suggest e d by Mr. Deighton, and under the terms of the 198th section, the bankrupt has rendered himself liable to the censure of this court. Now, the bankrupt has stated that his daughter had asked him for security ; had said she must have security ; and had pressed him for it in the early part of June, and repeatedly before that. In the cases of the mortgage of ships, that of the Dove was made on the 14th of June, before the bankrupt knew of the issuing of the writ,. and it was given, also, because Clover and Royle said if the money were not paid they would break up Mr. Jones, who had given his acceptance to Messrs. Clover and Royle ; and,at that time the bank rupt also believed he was perfectly solvent. As to Fisher's case, the mortgage was made to him because he insisted on security, the bankrupt's acceptance being dishonoured, upon which Fisher was liable. At this time, also, tho bankrupt had not ascertained the amount for which the Maria Needham was sold, which was far less than he had anticipated. This vessel had cost £7,361, and it sold in August for £3,025. Looking, therefore, at these facts, and considering that the bankrupt had from ill-health alone lost a very valuable situation, and that he might well have ex pected to realise a much larger sum than he did by the sale of the Maria Needham, and that much of his diffi culties have been occasioned by the tardy completion by Messrs. Kennington and Chapman of the vessel, the Maria Needham, I think with Mr. Deighton that he is deserving rather of the commisseration of the court than of its censure, and as he did not delay beyond the beginning of August to submit himself to the jurisdiction of this court by a petition, which only failed for the reason I have before mentioned, I think the certificate must be an immediate one of the second class. WATER COMMITTEE The usual weekly meeting of this committee was held yesterday, Mr. Hodson, in the chair. The other members present were —Messrs. Stitt, Ryley, Crellin, Bennett, Rae, Farnworth, Wagstaff, and Earle. Mr. Duncan reported that the quantity of water received from Rivington during the week ending 22nd instant, was 35,941,090 gallons. Pumped from the wells, 40,046,686 gallons. Total supplied to the town, 75,987,776 gallons. The proportion of Rivington water to well water was as 9to 10. During the week, the Roddles worth reservoir rose 5 inches, Ang,le7ark 2 inches, Riving ton 6 inches, and Prescot 1 foot 3 inches. Mountrey was steady, and Aspull fell half an inch. The rainfall for the week was 1.18 inches. The Millstone escape continued as last reported. Mr. Stitt asked the engineer if he ever had any com plaints from captains against the quality of the water ? The Engineer replied in the negative, and stated that he had obtained a sample of the Rivington water, from a water cask, out of a ship that had been away on a six months' voyage, and the water was, when compared with that taken immediately from the reservoir, superior. Indeed the Rivington water had given the utmost satis tion in the supplying of ships. Mr. Stitt said, this was a most important fact, and showed that the water was wholesome water. Some time ago the question, whether it would give satisfaction in the supply of emigrant and other ships, was a very anxious consideration. The Chairman said, he was requested to state to the committee that the son of a highly respectable gentleman in this town went out as a surgeon to Australia in an American vessel, and took a cask of the Rivington water out with him for the purpose of testing it, and when he came home he found the water as good as when he went out. lie had some preiudice against the water, and he was determined to test it and this was the result. Mr. Campbell reported, that the impounded water was discharged three feet into the goit. Mr. Weightman recommended that £ll be paid to the Rev. Thomas Gardner, as one moity of the expenses in curred in the erection of the parting fence wa n b etween his land and the land of the Water Committee, as agreed the a mount was ordered to On ny theth e motion comitt m e e f e i‘ i i n 1847. Bennett,r. to be paid. This concluded the general business. Miss Agnes Elsworthy, having had several tempting offers from New York, Boston, and New Orleans managers, she has purchased three new and original dramas (with a view to represent the heroines) from Mr. R. S. Markwelt the well-known American correspondent, entitled " La Malladita," " Margaret of Burgundy," and i 4 h@ Northern LIVERPOOL POLICE INTELLIGENCE. BEFORE MR. MANSFIELD THE EFFECTS OF SUPPING OIIT.—A gentleman, who gave the name of John Swan, and 'said to be a wine merchant, residing in Brownlow-street, was brought:up, along with a young woman, named Elizabeth Saunder son, charged by officer 264 with disorderly and improper conduct in the street ; and Mr. Swan was also charged with being drunk. The officer stated that he saw the rpdeiu•misctooinnnesirsa,tthrngoinneSaturday night, at St. Philip's Church, con ducting w i th them, they great b impropriety,became evey rth so a r i d i e d r , ly— on the gentleman particularly, who was drunk, and con ducted .himself with such impropriety, that he was obliged to lock up both. Mr. Swan, in strong terms, denied that he was drunk, and complained of the gross treatment he. had received at the hands of the policeman, and also at the station. He had supped in Exchange street East, and stopped out rather late, and he then went to the Post - office, to post some letters. When passing the church he met the young woman, who stopped to speak to him, when the officer came up and . took them into custody. Ile again denied being drunk,. and complained of the harsh way that he was treated. In reply to Mr. Mansfield, Mr. Kelly ; the bridewell keeper, said the prisoner was very drunk, and about one of the most outrageously conducted men he ever saw. He created a great disturbance at the station-house, and wanted him. (Mr. Kelly) to send for a doctor, a magistrate, and a surgeon. (Laughter.) He refused to do so for a disorderly drunken man at that hour of the morning, and then the prisoner became more outrageous, and kept the station in an uproar all night. Prisoner : Now, I appeal to you, if I were not as quiet as a child ? Mr. Kelly : I say you are one of the most disorderly persons I have seen. Seeing you were a respectable-looking person, and having a gold watch and other property about you, I offered to put you into a room by yourself, if yon only promised to behave yourself properly, but you would not. Mr. Swan still denied the statement, when Mr._ Kelly said : Here is one of the notes you wanted me to send to the Rev. , but, of course, I was not going to call up any gentleman at that hour to oblige a drunken disorderly person. Mr. Swan still presisted in his sobriety and well-regulated conduct. His Worship fined him 5s for being cit'unk, and discharged the young . woman AN " UPPER CANADIAN —John Berry, described as " the most notorious thief in Liverpool," Was brought up by " General Kennedy," on the following charge. The officer said, on Saturday night a message was received at Rose-hill station to the effect that there was murder being committed in Armstrong's beerhouse in "Upper Canada," and on going there, along . with another officer, they found fifteen notorious thieves in the house, fighting furiously. The prisoner had a knife in his 'hand and was attempting to stab a female, and when the officer interfered the prisoner knocked him down. He was subsequently arrested by the assistance of some other officers. The prisoner was sent to jail for a month, in default of paying £1 fine for the assault. " A WHISTLING JUG."—Every one has heard " the whistling man" in Limmtreet, and " every one else" have heard of the "singing mouse" and the "whistling oyster," bat for the first time we heard yesterday of a "whistling jug ;" and it happened thus :—lnspector Danson, and sonic two or three other officers, brought up Mary Burke and Mathew Sharp on a charge of assault. The Inspector and the men, it appeared, were watching a beer-house kept by a person named M‘Nally in Milton street, about two on Sunday morning, when they saw a woman leave the house with a• half gallon jug of ale. One of the men caught the woman, and was taking her back to the beer-house, when the male prisoner attacked him. The woman laid down the jug and ran away; the female prisoner took the jug and flung it at one of the officers ; and another swore he heard the jug come " whistling , along," and hit his brother on the head.. Another officer made use of the same expression— "whistling along "—and the inspector stated that he saw the woman fling the jug; all were assaulted by the prisoners. His Worship fined each £2, or to be im prisoned for one month each. CIIARGE OF COTTON STEALING.—WiIIiam Doran, and Edward M'Donald, tw o sa il ors on b oar d the American ship Emerald, from Mobile, were charged for stealing t wo bales of cotton. M r . C o bb defended . - The officer who had charge of the case, said he got the prisoners leaving the dock with the cotton, and he arrested them. Mr. Cobb : Is the captain here ? No ; he would not come. Then what right had you to arrest them. I. arrested them on my own responsibility, in the discharge of my duty. Mr. Cobb: Did not the captain say that as they wero runaway sailors, he would punish them in some other other way ? Not to me. Mr. Cobb : I really submit, sir, that there is no charge against these men, and that they have been treated very badly. Mr. Mansfield : If people who think that they have been robbed, do not think it worth their while to come and sustain the charge, I will not assist them. Let the prisoners be discharged. They were discharged accordingly. OH! HO ! Ma. DETECTIVE !—A fellow, with a face like' one of the tigers in Afander's Menagerie, who gave the name of John Sinclair, was brought up on the following charge : Mr. Cobb defended. Miss Margaret Jones, whose seraph-like face contrasted with that of the fellow at the bar in a strange degree, stated that herself and mother keeps a public-house, at 113, Derby road. At a quarter to twelve o'clock on Sunday night, there was a loud knocking at the door; she opened it, when the prisoner presented him self, and demanded admission. She refused, when he asked—" Do you know who I am ? " Miss Jones's knowledge did not go so far as to recognise him, and although she might have told him that his face was no, great beauty, she did nothing of the kind, but simply told him she did not know him. " Then I am a detective policeman," replied he, " and I must go in and search your house." Miss Jones at once admitted him, and told him to search. lie saw three gentlemen who lived in the house, and said he did not want any of them, and then hinted that some d r i n k wou ld b e acce ptable. Miss Jones then became the questioner, as she had a slight suspicion that all was not right, and asked " what his. name and number might be ? " Ile replied, "of course," that his name was Smith (loud laughter), and his number 110, and that he was searching for a man who had absconded and embezzled large sums of money belonging to Mr. Moss, a brewer. Miss Jones very properly sent out for a real officer, and gave friend Smith, number 110, into custody, and then he turned out to be a horse trainer, and, as it was stated, he had actually obtained 11s. worth of goods in the name of Mr. Moss, some days ago. Mr. Cobb done all he could to prove that it was a " jolly lark" on the part of the prisoner,. who was drunk, and did not know what he was doing, but the " lark " is likely to prove somewhat serious to the horse trainer, who was remanded for further examination. DISPUTED PROPERTY..—James Dunne and William Jones were charged with having stolen some carts and horses from Samuel Price. Mr. Chilton appeared for the prosecution, and Mr. Bluck for the prisoners. Some time ago the owner of the property, a man named Grey, was charged with having attempted to poison his wife. Pending his trial he made over his property to Price, who is his son-in-law. Grey was acquitted, and when he came out of gaol he sought to recover his property f rom Price, but Price stuck to the property, although it wag stated the bill of sale was merely to secure the property from the Crown in case of a conviction. Grey then commenced law proceedings againt Price, but pending these Grey was found drowned in the canal, and Price kept the property up to Saturday, when Mrs. Grey, the widow, sent the prisoners, who took the horses and carts from Price, and then they were charged for the stealing. These were the l B yl l e ack: hadPtrho e citi beiell it of at l once: or facts, and the following evidence was given i n th e case. Samuel Price, the son-in-law of old Grey, sa id h e got six horses, carts, and gear, from his fathe r -i n -l aw before h died, wi by tn a es b s il s laoifdoffier Carlyle sale. c 3r whatever it was, he took posse ss i on under that billsa e v Block objected to this, and said it had nothing to do with the case. Mr. Chilton went on to examine oth witness, since, who said he had hi s name on the carts and had that on Saturday on t h em on the stand when Dunne took . them away. Thewitness was cross-examined by Mr. Block, and denied that he was examined before the coroner, and als o th at he did not say lie claimed no ne o f the property ;h e (Mr. B. wanted to show th a t th e bill of sa l e was a sham, to defraud the Crown: In continuation, the witness said the Coroner did not . tell him to give up the property to the widow. Mrs. Grey said she sent the prisoners to take the property. Mr. Black said th e w it ness P r i ce had perjured himself in the box, as the depositions at the Coroner's-court would prove, and he would indict him certainly for the offence. Mr. Mansfield : Have yon taken down his words ? Mr. Block : I have. Mr.. Mansfield : Let the prisoners be discharged.— there was not the slightest cause for giving them into custody- Mr. Bluck : I hope Mr. Clough will not give back the carts to Price. Mr. Clough : No, we will give them back to the widow, where we got them—Price should have been in the dock. The prisoners were discharged. John Graham, the steward of the ship Minosa, was charged on suspicion of stealing a watch, some shirts, and wearing apparel, belonging to several persons who lodged in the same house with him in Burlington-street ; an d there was also a charge against him for stealing some wine and porter belonging to the sh . ip. • Mr. Cobb e de-. fended the prisoner. Some prelimmary evidence, to found a remand, was given, and the prisoner Was accord-' ingly remanded. d w tb e j ,tflic t 'j t . e 00°v it 'leilii . 11 : I A