The Express.
London, England, 1847-04-12 00:00:00

me applied to, and that you had 30 ware, which yea would eve ge-
nerally to the &wavers se the Man or government, so that we are
here this day with two to one at the least, of our opponents on this
platform. That tit m tickets were liable to ha muaterfetted, haring
no authoriwition or signature, and that thee the fairnes4, equity, and
freedom of a loon's n feting have bern endangered. That all these
circumstances dearly show in what rake-it:on a disprolonste mind
must and might to view either • victory or • defeut.—l am, Sir. yours
man respeethally, Gnome S. Beta., Minister n(&, Matthew's Church,
April 9, 1841.

A VOICE FOR SECULAR EDUCATION.
TO E. BAINES, JUN., ESQ., ON lilt VISIT TO BRISTOL.
Sir,—l very much regret that the short and
limited notice of your intention to visit the neighbourhood
of Bristol, deprived me of the power of making arrangements
to devote the esening of yesterday to the hearing of all you
had to offer at the meeting assembled to receive you at
Hope Chapel, in Clifton.
As it was, florin:, another engagement, I was only enabled
to hear you in a part of your address, and was precluded
from the opportunity of offering some remarks to your candid
consideration. and that of the small, though respectable, as-
semblage before which you app. ared. Had circumstances
permitted, I should have felt a strong desire to entreat of
you to reconsider some portions of the ground on which you
' have raised your opposition to the educational measure now
before the country. With you, air, I should have
joined my voice in desiring that the educational measure
founded on the minutes of the committee of council should be
withdrawn. But there our concurrence must have ended ; so
far as may be judged from the line of opposition you have
hitherto taken. Eat why should that line be unalterable ?
You have changed your impressions before—why should your
present impressions be indelible? You have not always
been of opinion that the state had "1.0 duty to
discharge," in regard to the education of the
people; or that its interference in a way that could
not be prejudicial to our religious liberties would be
a policy pregnant with dancer to our civil interests
—a diuigerso menacing that no limitation by the necessary
co-operation of voluntary and local agency—no control from
parliamentary vigilance, could render ouch policy other than
one of pure and unmixed evil. I cannot, even now, imagine
you seriously to maintain such ground. Sir, in this pro-
posed measure of the government, it is—while rightfully jea-
lous of church doctrine—far more of church feeling and
' church power that I entertain a very serious apprehension.
Remove this element from the measure, and we stand on
fair and free ground. You object to agitate as op.
position on this ground from attachment to the vo•
tenter), principle. But, in the first place, no
contemplated system of state lid excludes the volun•
tory principle. On the contrary, it cannot exist with-
out it. You do not sufficiently remind your readers and
hearers of this important circumstance. In the next place,
however indispensable, however energetic, the voluntary
principle, it cannot of itself do the nation's work. It will
not continuously maintain an efficient system of instruction.
It will not pay the schoolmaster. It never has sue:Wendy
done so yet. And it was a significant symptom of the truth
of this fact, that two British teachers in this city were, I be-
lieve, the only opponents you had last night. Sir, I have
known of a school, on the committee of which were six
ministers, who for a series of years never subscribed one
farthing to the funds of the school. In apology, I have
heard it maintained that they were themselves in pecuniary
circumstances which did not admit of such benevolent
sacrifices.

Then why are not those circumstances better? In one
place or another the voluntary principle fails to do its
required work. Either the school and schoolmaster are net
sufficiently maintained, or the ministers are not. But to
pus on —in the last place, the voluntary principle left to deal
alone with the education of the people, has a tendency to
assume that complexion of evil, which I charge se its chief
and deadliest fault upon the plan of the committee of council
—and that is iueectarianism—its principle of isolation—its

. .
spirit of un-charity. In no other way than under the
auspices, and by the encouragement, of the state, can you
get the two great divisions of the community the Church
and Dissent, to act together in the cause of common
good. Leave them to work apart, and they will
go to the work with all their separate eaginery
of pride, prejudice, and parry—religions and political,
The Dissenters of this countryhave committed a vast mistake.
And men of pure end elevated minds like you, whose influ-
ence could have been put to such noble use, have hitherto
lost an opportunity of advocating and strengthening • right
principle, which we know not what lottery of political
emergency may place again in their hands. May not some-
thing be done, even is this eleventh hour, to retrieve the
mistake ? The Church has taken its ground on the principle
explicitly declared by Lord Lansdowne, of " dreadieg even
the contact of the children of ove religious denomination
with those of another." And the Church is strong in her
terrific bigotry, because so few as yet have " pro-
nounced" is a tone of an apposite, healing, and
smiling character: In the name of humanity, In
the name of Gospel charity, in the name of our
ignorant, neglected, and too divided people, do you, sir,
assume this tone, and occupy this ground in your remaining
and future efforts to defeat a policy whose inevitable result
must be to give knowledge at the cruel price of streagthen-
ins and perpetuating our mutual aversions; and tumbril,
tianixing the land, by teaching its youth to grow up in tke
cherished remembrance of the things wherein they differ,
rather than of the many and holy things wherein they agree.
Let us go for a secular system of instruction, which all
should receive is common ; leaving religion under its various
aspects of doctrine to be taught by separate agency. Let us
go for a system whose foundation should be "assistance to
ell—injustice to none." The government itself feels that
this is the true and right system. Let there be good men
and true to show them that there is a feeling in the country
sound enough and strong enough to sustain them in a
struggle with the organised forces of " envy, hatred, malice,
and all uncharitableness." From these, " good Lord, de-
liver us."—Youcs,&c., 060R01 AILMSTRONO, A. 8., Minister
of the Goopel.—Clifton, April 5.

IRELAND.
DUBLIN, APRIL 11.
Some of the country papers greatly exaggerate the
consequences of the late reduction. That it has
operated injuriously in some districts cannot be de-
nied, but everywhere the rule was sought to be
carried into effect with the kindliest regard to the
wants of the local community. The capability of the
landlords and occupiers to afford employment was
considered, as well as the period during which it
ought to have continued, before the maximum reduc-
tion was effected in any district; and in every case
these elements were taken into consideration, the
reduction being proportioned to the agricultural wants
of each locality: more than 20 per cent. in some dis-
tricts allowed—a diminished scale in others. Generally
the excitement has subsided, though dissatisfaction
still remains in districts where the dregs of turbulence,
even in the most prosperous times, still continued to
operate. In Limerick whole flocks of sheep are swept
away, for outrage there never died. In Youghal, a
more tranquil community, but suffering dreadfully,
the reduction has produced a repetition of the vio-
lence which some months ago accompanied the want
of employment. The reduced labourers forced the
employed to join them, and all made a combined
attack on the bread shops of the town. In some other
' places disorder has appeared, but as rapidly subsided.
It is some consolation to discover symptoms of •
better condition in oar present gloomy state. The
potato still ie an object of solicitude, and its progress
has been looked forward to with much anxiety.
Winter planting has been tried on rather an exten-
sive scale, and the young shoots are in the most
healthful state, free from the least symptom of disease.
The wheat, too, looks well, and the early-sown
oats are brsirding beautifully. Of the potato
proat the Cork Southern Reporter observes that
the farmers have taken courage from the present ap-
pearance of the early planting, and hasten to increase
their potato tillage.
" Seed-sowing, says the Leinster P,:press to-day,
" is much brisker than was anticipated :" addutir
that the result is owing principally to the exertionsd
the landlords : of these several are enumerated whose
names have already appeared in the Express, but
to that list they add those of Mr. Horace Darby, and
Mr. F. H. Toone; the former, who manages his bro-
ther's estates, gives seed, not only to the tenantry, but
to all other tenantry in his neighbourhood, and the
latter, who is usually an absentee, in addition to the
distribution of seeds, feeds, at his own expense, 160
persons daily. The district represented by the
Leinster Express comprises several of the Midland
Counties. . . . . .

A principle of some importance in the administra-
tion of the temporary relief act has been decided in
the case of the North Dublin Union. A reeeletin to
make a rate was passed by the committee, in width
the inspector refused to issue the neciessery monlosie
pursuant to the act, on which the government greet
would be obtained on the order of Martinet commie-
eioners. The inspector insisted that something more
than a resolution to make a rate at some future time
was needed ; and the committee stood on the language
of the act that.the inspector was bound to certify, end
the commissioners empowered to grant the loan cm

the credit, not of rate; made, but-about to be made.
The necessity of absolutely levying a rate before any
assistance could be afforded would postpone relief in
half the electoral divisions of Ireland to the Greek
Salends. To solve the difficulty, which was under the
somideration of the crown officers, a deputation of the
committee waited on Sir John Burgoyne, who agreed
with the guardians that the conditions of the act were
fulfilled by a resolution to make a rate, and he bad
accordingly written to London for the money. This
decides settles a question which otherwise eltsteb.
crests& much confusion and embarrassment
oat the sanntry.

Pima44w STATlBTlCH.—Ceilichmacroas 111i011, any
Moenlsan,lnaintains 802 paupers, the expense being .
each pauper fora week's support; Dundalk, Louth, soda-
tains M paupers, 21. 31d. each pauper; and Neeagb, 1,407,
at an expense of 2a. each per week. The deaths in the first.