The Express.
London, England, 1847-04-02 00:00:00

Whitaun weeks, without the usual order of admission from a
know of the society.
GOVERNMENT EDUCATION SCHEME. Sir, —lt
is with much reluctance that I request space to offer
a word or two in redly to the observations relating
to myself in your journal of yesterday. It is quite
true that, when pleading on the side of state agency in sid
of popular education, I was aware of the existence of the
National School Society, and of the British and Foreign
School Society, and of the practice of those societies in so
mixing the general and religious instruction in their
schools, that children have been compelled to re-
ceive both, or precluded from receiving either. But
my argument has been, that the conditioa on
which any school should be allowed to obtain
funds raised by general Manion, should be, that
the general instruction be kept distinct from the religious,
and that the (eraser be thrown freely open to the com-
munity, without any direct or indirect imposition of the
latter. My hope, that the time had come in which the
government and the country would see their way to the
adoption of some course of this nature has not been
realised. Churchmen seem resolved that their religion
shall be taught in their schools as fully as in their
&urchin, and be so taught to all who attend such
schools. The great majority of nonconformist', I re.
gret to say, are also determined that, in their schools,
the general and religious teaching shall be linked
together is the same manner. The result is,
that our government is obliged to endow systems of
popular education which will be everywhere thoroughly
sectarian, or to endow none. With this choice before it, my
settled conviction is, that it had better endow none. Sec
tenon education is not an affair for an English government
vs meddle with. In any circumstances, day-school educe-
tioa taking a sectarian complexion is by no means a thing
to my taste, whether the sectarianism taught may chance to
he my own or that of my neighbour ; but, as taken under
the supervision or pay of the state, education of this sort is
open to insuperable objection. The day is passed in which
such a scheme might have been approved or endured
in these nations. I admit that, had the government
insisted on such a distinction between the general
and the sectarian in the education sided by its
means, it would not perhaps have succeeded in bringing
the two societies named, or the different religions bodies,
to approve of its plans. But to have failed on such
ground would have been honourable, whereas, from the
present scheme, I see nothing but mischief as likely to
result. For it must be remembered, that it is now
ascertained, that the great body of nonconformist', in-
cluding the Methodists, will not be recipients of these
grants: some, because they object to the interference of
civil government with popular education in any form;
others became they object to such interference in respect
to religious education ; and others, because they are opposed
to this virtual endowment of all creeds—even such
as are, in their judgment, the most superstitious and errone-
ous. For our government to persist in this measure, with
the clear certainty before it that nearly all the proposed
bounty would go to the side of the conformist, and scarcely I
a vestige of it to the nonconformist, the latter having no I
other concern with it than as a man who is to be reminded
at every turn that he has been himself taxed to supply them
sinews of war to his antagonist—to go on with this scheme
in the face, I may say in defiance, of such consequences,
would be, in my poor judgment, little short of infatuation.
If it be said that exceptionable as this measure is, it is really
about the best we can hope to obtain, my answer is, I be-
lieve it; and believing this, I cannot avoid the conclusion,
that the sooner we cease to think of popular education in
England sea matter with which our statesmen may profit-
ably concern themselves, the better. I see the alternative—
I feel its weight —but it appears to me unavoidable.—l am,
sir, yours, Ropier VeurntaN, Lancashire Independent
College, March 31.
A FACT FOR THE ANTI-EDUCATIONISTS.—Of the
Aldworth jury, who convicted Mr. Butler, of Pangbouna,
of inantaughter 12 in number, there were seven that could
net sign their Own names.

AMERICAN SYMPATHY.-MR. CLAY'S

SPEECH.

The following important speech was made at a
meeting held at New Orleans, in the state of Louisiana, for
the purpose of making arrangements for the relief of the
people of Ireland. /dr. Clay addressed the meeting nearly
as follows :
Mr. President and Fellow-citizens—l hesitated to accept
the invitation which has brought me here; being 'a mere
sojourner and not a member of this community, I doubted
the propriety of my presence and participation in the
proceedings of this meeting, and apprehended that my I
motive might be misunderstood. But—on consulting my
pillow, and considering that the humanity of the object
of this assembly ia bounded by no latitude nor locality, and
ought to be coextensive with the whole human family—it
seemed to me that all considerations of fastidious delicacy
and etiquette should be waived and merged in a generous
and magnanimous effort to contribute to the relief of the
sufferings wnich have excited our feelings. if I should
be miscuoceived or misrepresented, the experience of a long
life has tiught me, that the best response to misconcep-
tion and miereprescatation is the fearless and faithful
dis-
charge of duty in all the conditions of life in which we
may be placed ; and; the best answer to traduction and
calumny is conscious rectitude and the approbation of
one's own heart Mr. President, if we were to hear that
large numbers of the inhabitants of Asia, or Africa, or
Australia. or the remotest part of the globe, were daily
dying with hunger and famine—no matter what their colour,
what their religion, er what their civilisation—we should
deeply lament their cunditine„ Ana ha ieeesowibly p.oinpted,
If possible, to mitigate their sufferings. But it is not
the distresses of any such distant regions that have sum-
moned us together on this occasion. The appalling and
heart-rending distresses of Ireland and Irishmen form
the object of our present consultation. That Ireland,
which has been in all the vicissitudes of our national exis-
anee, our friend, and has ever extended to us her warmest
sympathy—those Irishmen, who, in every war in which we
have been engaged, on every battle field, from Quebec to
Monterey, have stood by us, shoulder to shoulder, and
shared in all the perils and fortunes of the conflict. The
imploring appeal comes to us from the Irish nation, which
is so identified with our own as to be almost part and parcel
of ours, bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. Nor is
it any ordinary cue of human misery, or a few isolated
ems of death by starvation, that we are called upon to
emaider. Famine is stalking abroad throughout Ireland ;
whole towns, counties—eountless human beings, of every
age and of both sexes—at this very moment are starving,
or in danger of starving to death for breed! Of all the
teems of dissolution of human life, the pangs and agony of
that which proceeds from famine are the most dreadful.
If one dies fighting gloriously for his country, he is cheered,
in his expiring moments, by the patriotic nature of his I
seerinee. He knows that his surviving relations find friends,
whip lamenting his loss, will be gratified and honoured by
his devotion to his country. Poets, painters, sculptors,
historisns—will record his deeds of valour and perpetuate
his renown. If he dice by the sudden explosion of the
boilers of a steamboat, or by &storm at sea, death is quiet and
easy, and soon performs its mission. A few piercing shrieks
are uttered, ho sinks beneath the surface, and all is still and
silent.• But a death by starvation comes slow, lingering, and
excruciating. From day to day the wretched victim feels his
flesh dwindling, his speech sinking, his friends falling around
him, and he finally expires in horrible agony. Behold the
wretched Irish mother—with haggard looks and stream-
ing eyes -her famished children clinging to her tattered
garments, and gazing piteously in her face begging for
food; and see the distracted husband and father, with
pallid cheeks, standing by, horror and despair depicted
in his countesuusee—tortured with the reflection that he
can afford no succour or relief to the dearest objects
of his heart, about to be snatched for ever from hint
by the most cruel of deaths ! This is no fancy picture
but, if we are to credit the terrible amounts which reach
us from the theatre of misery and wretchedness, is one of
daily occurrence. Indeed, no imagination can conceive—
tongue express—no lona paint—the horrors of the
scenes which are there daily exhibited. Ireland, in re-
spect to food, is differently situated from all the countries
of the world. Asia has her abundant supply of rice ;
Africa her dates, yams, and rice; Europe, her bread of
wheat, rye, and oats; America, a double resource in the
small grains, and a never-failing and abundant supply of
Indian corn—that great supporter of animal life—for which
we are not half grateful enough to a bountiful and merciful
Providence. But the staple food of large parts of poor
Ireland is the potato, and when it fails, pinching want and
famine follow. It is among the inscrutable dispeneations of
Providence, that the crop has been blighted the two last
years ; and hence the privations of food, and this appeal to
the sympathy of American hearts. Shall it be in vain /
Shall starving Ireland—the young and the old—dying
women and children ate. tch out their hands to us for bread,
and find no relief ? Will not this great city, the world's
storehouse of an exhaustless supply of all kinds of food,
borne to its overflowing warehouses by the Father of
Waters, act on this occasion in a manner worthy of its
high destiny, and obey the noble impulses of the generous
hearts of its blessed inhabitants ? We are commanded by
the common Saviour of Ireland and of us, to love one another
as ourselves; and on this, together with ono higher obli-
gation, hang all the law and prophets of our holy reli-
gion. We know that of all the forms of humanity and
benevolence, none is more acceptable, in the sight of God,
than the practice of charity. Let us demonstrate our love,
out duty, and our gratitude to Him, by a liberal contribu-
tion to the relief of His suffering Irish children.—Fellew-
Mime —no ordinary purpose -has brought to together.
lids is sw political gathering. If it had been, you would
wet have sow mo here ; I have not come to make a speech.
When the heart is full and agitated by its own feeling emo-
tions, the paralysed tongue finds utterance difficult. It is
net fervid eloquence, not gilded words, that Ireland needs—
hat substantial food. Let us rise to the magnitude of the
duty which is before us, and by a generous supply from the
magnitude of our means, evince the genuineness and cor-
diality of our sympathy and commiseration. At the con-
clusion of Mr. Clay's speech, one loud and unanimous
shout of approval was raised, in which officers and audience
participated.

STATISTICS OF THE COTTON TRADE.
Some intereadag statistic tables, relating to the
eats= trade, haw boa published in the Ilareitergar Guar-
dia*. Mr. Jake Ds=ral Blaekburn, the compikr, ob-
es an at s.nampli cones • toryinsinnes.
mr=lorls 11.11=1•166 •
=dia.... Inmenntle eintianni, kimono iney ye-
tis tam ansingannt stew mina Inds noll In min Tr
Urdu* br a lonftlunt of dr rev inn66l•l ken ray
other arm stallinn tar On lot ably pren Ym
Isersold at the Man at In prr ant ark ism IWO,
ann860611•81•444, 0n•448_ yomrs. The annomenlen In as year
1817, was masted at 11668860118.; Wilion 1111,411186414111. bi
1814, at 8811,11111.4418116 lald In 184$, ei 816000,0001 b. Thy Isimisit
coundeptka delfts ea the continent dace 1834, has Win In 168