The Express.
London, England, 1848-08-24 00:00:00

states will then be called on to treat with
Nevertheliss, the penalties of permit:ire might
so attach to the into rcouree of an English govern-
zest with a potentate so fallen, and so little to be
mod, Would that their abolition were better pro-
,ided for than it is by, the present bill. Im-
perfect as the measure is, and for the reasons
have stated, uncertain in its operation, we
are glad that the statute-book has been purged of
ses absurdity, while there was time for it. Yet a
little while, and it would have been too late.
Whatever the ultimate event may be, we shall hail
with malefaction, en.cl watch with curiosity the ac-
counts of the visit of an English ambassador to the
halls of the Vatican, even though the revolutionary
„ Nene, mene,tekel, uphal sips" be already legible on

ON the 10th inst. we alluded to the intention of
the stagnation party tit Inland to make another at-
tempt to overturn the system of education which has
been adopted by the national board, and has worked
o well for that unhappy country. This attempt was
nude on Monday evetung in the shape of the follow.
tog motion by Mr. G. A. HAMILTON :
That an humble address he presented to her Majesty,
Paying that h.! Marty will be graciously pleased to direst
ilia such a modilicauon of the system of national iducatioa
it Ireland he made as may remove the conscientious °Mese
Dors which a very large proportion of the clergy and laity
of the estab'Ashed church entertain to that system as at pre-
test carried into operation ; or otherwise, that mesas may
he taken to enable those of the clergy and laity of the este.
Melted church who entertain such conscientious objections
to extend the blessings or scriptural education in Irelind.
The effect of acting upon the principle ad-
vocated in the motion would be the destruc-
tion of the present system, under which nearly
ball a million of children receive education. Those
who wish to possess a detailed statement of the
argument, together with abundance of facts to corro-
borate the reasoning, are recommended to read a pam-
phlet entitled " The elu. scion of a separate Grant to
the Church Mutation Society Considered." By ED-
WARD N. HoARE, Dean of Aehenry and Chap-
lain to the Lord Lieutenant. As we have no wish to
set up the fallen absurdities for the sake of knocking
them down again, we shall confine our attention to
the motion and the debate of Monday. It is clear
that the intention of the proposers of the motion is
neither more nor lees than to reassert the old claim of
the established church of Ireland to the exclusive
right of educating the people of that country. This
claim may be replied to in the words of Dr. box
ea ultra high churchman, u 4th reference to the similar
dim urged by the church of England. " If," says
this divine, "the church of England claims
a right to the exclusive education of the
people, it becomes her duty to seek to supply
the deficiency of the funds required. by ap-
propriating her property to this pnrpose.
Our bishops are on this principle bound to go
down to the House of Lords, and seek powers from
the legislature to sell their estates, and their example
should be followed by the more opulent of the inferior
clergy. 'fhe help of the laity would then be sufficient.
It would be better for the church to have a pauperised
hierarchy than an uneducated people; and never
maid the hierachy be more respectab.e than when
pauperised in such a cease." The Irish hierarchy, it
say be assumed, will never be induced to consider
pauperism respectable ; and as it is not at all likely
that their claim will be listened to, unless they psr-
fora some heroic act of m irtyrdom like that hinted
at by Dr. Hoot:, we have every right to hope that all
oproximation to such a claim wit meet with the fate
the motion on Monday evening. Mr. HAMILTON called
upon the government to retrace their steps, to act to-
wards the people of Ireland as they acted towards
the people of Eng:and, and to proceed upon
the principle that there was one test of right and
wrong, the revealed word of GoD. Now, the method
el stung this text, it is well known, forme one of the
great subjects of discussion between the Roman ca-
&tic and protestant churches. The Roman catholic
clergy have neither the funds nor the time to allow
them to put their method in practice; bat the clergy
d the established church have fOr centuries enjoyed
the advantages of friends, time, and legal protectaon.
We have said legal protection : we believe we might
Lave used a stronger phrase, for unless the 7th of
WILLIAM 111. is repealed, every clergyman is bound
by oath to "teach, or cause to be taught, an English
wheel within his particular vicarage or rectory."
What, then, have been the fruits of that system
which Mr. MAMILTON desires to patch up by the aid
of a separate government grant ? Nothing in the
way of education, but an overwhelming and incalca-
kbU amount of evil in the way of fostering party feel-
ing dad bigotry. This is no new discovery. The
utter inefficiency of the exclusively protestant system
has been evident from the beginning. As early as the
year 1731 the deficiency was perceived, and a remedy
applied in the shape of the Incorporated Society. This
society produced effects so far analogous to those of the
old system, that the celebrated JOHN HOWARD
thought it n to make a representation on the
"abject to theeclarsisharliouse of Commons. A committee
me appointed to examine into the state of the schools
a the society, and from their report it appeared that
"the schools were out of repair and in a ruinous con-
dition; and that the public money with which the
Society was assisted, was expended for the purpose of
imprisoning, starving, beating, diseasing, destroying
the natural affections, and letting the understanding
nut to waste of about 1,400 poor children annually,
under the pretext of instructing and converting the
young generation." This hopeful experiment to edu-
rate, on the exclusive system, children whose parents
mold seldom be induced to send them except in years
of scarcity, cost the government, from first to last,
about 1,100,0001. On another experiment, the chapter
schools, 100,0001. was expended.
The last attempt in the same direction was made
by the Kildare Place Society. Established at a time,
When the zeal of party men was inflamed to an ex-
imordinary height, when the cry of " the Church is
leaner" excited more than usual attention, assisted
*the wealth of the great landed proprietors, and of
a 9 richest hierarchy in Europe; the Kildare Plates
Satiety, at a period when education for the poor was
Weroelv possible, if not received at their schools, after
14 years' zealous endeavour were enabled to reckon
137,639 as the numb,-r of their scholars. This num-
ber, it must be remembered, was obtained by the ex-
penditure of enorecous pecuniary resources, and with
the effect of widening that breach between Catholic
and Pneestant, which is one of the prime causes of
the difficulty of educating the nation. But the aye-
tea was esentially artificial; it was kept up by " buy-
tag over" parents, both Protestant and Catholic, to
bad their children to the schools ; and when the zeal
of inflamed partisans cooled, the effects, as mea-
sared by the number of pupils, rapidly declined. It
was at t hie stage of the proceedings with respect to Irish
education that the government took up the subject
Their success has been moat gratifying. In about
4,000 schools there are about half a million of chil-
dren. This number is steadily increasing, the aug-
mentation being disturbed only by such causes as
famine, political disturbances, &c. We cannot.
terefore, but express oar emphatic condemnation of
say endeavour to cripple the efforts of the first suc-
cessful attempt to educate the Irish nation. Such an
imernpt can only be the result of the most decided
higutry or the - craseest ignorance. We have before
*own that the result of a separate grant which must
then of cour e be extended in an enormously increased
amount to the Roman esthetics and presbyterians,
would bet to overturn this system, a consummation
which must be dreaded by all who have the cause of
education at heart. If the established church wish
far separate schools, let it, as Lord J. Russell, ob-
.' served, establish them out of its own rich endow-
Monts:

Tat French Assembly has passed a very severe
kw against the press, which excites against it much
eannadversion on the part of the friends of liberty.
4sterding to this law no one shall be allowed to pub-
lish his opmi sits without first depositing a round sum
hit prove his being in possession, not of brains or prin.
riplea, but of substantial property.
In Spain this system of cautionnement or security is
Imaged in a way still more convenient for govern-
Immt, as the following will show. A Senhor ARANA
Ras proprietor of a paper called the Siglo; it was
liberal, and consequently shared the fate of all liberal
*male in being first prosecuted, condemned, and
fined, which did not save it or them from subsequent
sapprelsion. The aenhor, however, was anxious tore-
sasCitate his paper by bowing to thestorm,andmaking
10.14 e, though not dishonourable, compromise with the
thrtator. He journeyed to La (banjo., and negotiated for
ills paper being allowed to appear without the payment
of the fines imparted. His suit was granted upon one
condoo.: , Ted the condition of generally supporting
the go‘irliment, but this :