The Express.
London, England, 1852-01-16 00:00:00

four elements together, and bids them work
for man's advantage. Under its influence the world
has been metamorphosed, or, rather, the thick voile
which shrouded its meaning from mankind have been
removed, and we ere it now teeming with riches of
which we had no coneeptioa--overflowing with-
farces which, when brought under our subjection,
multiply our own powers a thousand fold. Men
walked through the world iu olden times as Aladdin
walked through the subterranean garden, pleased,
indeed, with the prettiness of the glittering fruit
that hung on the trees, but utterly unconscious that
each fruit was a jewel of price. They
have now had their eyes opened, but are
they to bo condemned to the same prepa-
ration for active duty in this new world as
was sufficient for their forefathers in the narrow
i limits of the old world? Foreign nations answer in
the negative ; we, up to the present moment, have
; answered in the affirmative. In all foreign states
institutions exist for the education of youth in those
sciences; which have sprung into being within the
last 300 years, and which are now operating upon
the industrial arts with such tremendous power.
What has been the consequence? We may learn
this, in part, from the admission of Dr. LYON PLAY-
FUR, made in a lecture recently delivered at the
Society of Arts.
" The official reserve imposes' upon me," observed the
lecturer, *. as the commissioner appointed to aid the juries
I in the Exhibition, need exist no longer, and from my per-
Sellti conviction, 1 answer, without qui:litication, that great
effects were visible as the result of this intellectual training
exercised in foreign states as a preparation for active parti-
cipation in the arts of industry. Imy that the result of
I the Exhibition was one that England may well be startled
at. Wherever (and that implies, in every manufacture)
science was involved as an element of progress, we saw, as an
inevitable law, that the nation which most cultivated it
was in the ascendant. Our manufacturers were justly as-
tonished at seeing most of the foreign notions rapidly ap-
proaching, and sometimes excelling, us in manufactures
which were our own by hereditary and traditionary right.
1 feel it is a very grave matter for reflection whether the Ex-
hibition did not show very clearly that the rate of industrial
advance of many European nations, even of those which were
obviously in our rear, was greater than our own. You
may, and I hope you will, raise industrial colleges, but the
pupils ought to be trained preparatory to entrance. Un-
til schools accept, as a living faith, that the study of God's
work is more fitted to increase the resources of a nation
than a study of the amours of Jupiter or of Venus, the col-
leges will make no headway. In Paris, the average age
of entry at the Central College of Arts and Manufactures
is 19 years and three days. These pupils are will trained
in science before they come here to he taught how to apply
it. In this institution there are 300 youths well taught,
and 150 each year are poured into the provinces. Some
thing similar takes place in all parts of Europe. In Eng-
land we have only King's College, and there, the industrial
education ends just where, on the Continent, it begins."

How is this great evil to be corrected ? Plainly,
if nut by quite dethroning the old classical educa-
tion from the position it occupies, at least by ele-
vating industrial education to the same level. So
completely does the ancient system monopolise the
place of honour, in spite of public opinion and com-
mon sense, that a large number of the most dis-
tinguished of our men and the most accomplished
and must virtuous of our women, assembled the other
day in Westminster to see the pupils of the school
perform a play which, if written in English, would
be too for representation in a penny theatre,
the apology for the representation being that the
piece was written in Latin. Latin was the language of
the learned three hundred rears back, in Latin must
an aspirant alter learning be trained now. True it is
that I.atin is of little practical use to a learned
man of the present day; true it is that the
learning which has made the modern world what it
is, has no connexion with the study of Latin; this is
true enough, still Latin is the only object of attain-
ment worthy of the attention of a bay. Never mind
if you pitch him out into the new world weak and
powerless, with no understanding of its objects, with
no eves or hands to make use of what is before him,
ho has learned to comprehend the ancient world ;
that is enough.
There is no doubt that the evil has its root in
that leaven of aristocracy which pervades all our
institutions. The aristocracy have not yet conde-
scended to dirt their fingers with industrial employ-
ments. They therefore despise industrial training.
The learning of an ancient time is consequently
sufficient for them. Nay, it is a mark of distinction.
It is time that the middle classes should assert their
dignity. It is time that they should say to the aristo-
cracy : The times are changed. It is no longer your
land, nor your chivalry, nor most certainly
your intellectual acquirements, which will be
looked to in the time of trouble. We, armed
with science and art, fight the battles of
nations. We claim, therefore, that the state
should recognise these services by affording duo
encouragement to that education which will enable
us to develop our powers to the utmost. We claim
to be recognised and rewarded for our services at
least as highly as decipherers of Greek manuscripts,
or spinners of Latin Alcaics. Until the due honours
are paid to the great men of industrial activity, we
are defrauded of our due rights. Until the man who
directly or indirectly increases to a vast extent the
productive resources of the nation receives equal
honours with the soldier who fights for his country,
the lawyer who legislates for it, or the churchman
who prays for it, we are labouring without our re-
ward, and the nation itself must suffer. Dr. PLAY-
Felled remarks upon the subject leave little further
to be said, used arc well worth consideration:

" In this country," he said, "we are, in many respects,
remarkably unchangeable. Three professions—the church,
law, and mediehte--ware supposed, some centuries ago, to
represent learning, and, with a wonderful blindness, they
still -er its

are accepterl7 Inenstry, to which this colatzy ores s.
success, has never teen raised to in due rank. For her
WWI there are no honours, no recognition of social position.
tier native dignity, if tacitly understood, has never been
formally acknowledged. Science, which has raised her to
this eminence, is squally unrecognised in position and
honours, and from her very nature cannot attain wealth,
which in industry solaces the absence o social position.
This restriction of learned honour to three recognised pro-
fessions has a lamentable effect on the progress of science and
on industry. The consequence of this is that each of these
becomes glutted with aspirants, who sink into subordinate
positions, soured, disappointed, and perhaps dangerous to
the community. Raise industry to the rank of a profession,
as it is raised in other countries—give to an industrial uni-
versity the power of granting degrees, and the evil will be
remedied."

There can be but one opinion as to the truth of
these remarks. The sense of an imperfect apprecia-
tion of their services is present in the minds of many
of our industrial giants. The lower rewards which
were formerly considered sufficient for men of this
class they now despise. The consequence is, that
discontent and heart-burning exist where the mast
perfect union is desirable. The remedy for this lies
an a proper revision and enlargement of our system
of education, and a vigorous pursuance of that line
of policy which appears to have suggested to Prince
AtnEltr the foundation of the two endowments we
have just mentioned.

BURGLARY AT BAVENSWORTII CASTLE.-000 of
the must daring burglaries which have been heard of for
many years in the county of Durham was committed at
ltaveneworth Castle, the residence of Lord Ravensworth,
on Sunday night last. No fewer than four bedrooms in the
Castle, each of which were occupied, were entered in the
course of the night, and yet, strange to my, the thieves
conducted their operatiens so noiselessly as to escape un-
heard. The butler was suddenly awoke about 2 o'clock in
the morning by a flesh of light entering his bedroom, and
be immediately got up, but observing two or three doors
opened, he came to the conclusion that some of the servants
were about, and again retired to rest. Early in tho
morning the servants ascertained from various dr-
, cunistancts that the Castle had been broken into; the doors
were standing open and a pane of oleos was broken in the,
kitchen window, through which the thieves had enterer
The lion. Adolphus Liddell, a son of his lordship, foe nd
' upon awaking that the door of hie bedroom was stand tog
open, and that a la note and 1115 sovereigns had been
from his dressing-table during the night. Charles Otter,
E.g., a barrister on the northern circuit, who was on a vials
at the Castle, found also that his room had been entered
and about 12s. stolen. Flubeequent csamination showed
' that his lordship's as well as the butler's room had beau
entered, thteigh nothing:was missed. A large amount et
plate, gold watches and other valuable prop erty, which
might t sadly have been removed, had bean pa,aed by, as all
were found to be perfectly safe and apparently untouched.
. • Footmarks outside the Castle have been easim'.nevl by the rural
' police, as well as by a London detective officer, who had
re,:ently been employed by the York, Newcastle, sad Bets
wkk Railway Company, and they her.: come to the con-
. elusion that the burglary must have been committed by
a person intimately acquainted with the premises, and that
he removed his boots from hi. feet before entering at the
kitchen window. It is probable that the thief or thieves'
only object was to obtain possession of all the, money they
rink( Hurl, though it is pasible they may have been pre-
' vented Irma further plundering the Castle by the awaking
of the butler.

Ilia. CALCUTTA OPIUM SALES radioed during the
present year 3,197,1291.; in 1819 tad 1840 they were
.3,19:1,0271 and 3,313,934 i. A falling tiff, in three years, of
third of million sterling is thus shown to have occurred.