The Express.
London, England, 1867-10-22 00:00:00

[STAMPED, Id. ADDITIONAL.)

THE GREEK DEBT.

[TWOPENCE

THE EARL OF CL.4RENHON AT COVENTRY.

Near in difficulty to the discovery of the elixir The Coventry and Midland Counties Industrial,
of life, or squaring the circle, or the invention of Manufacturing, and Fine Art Exhibition, which wsaopenell
perpetual motion, must be placed the settlement by Earl Granville
numberilhleonthe ofl vi.itoofJrzen,otwuwitfhitimizionnally closed
of
of us have heard of this debt, pre-eminent as has
of the Greek debt. From earliest boyhood most yesterday. The
weather, was large, and the proceedings
passed offHalvthingr,erahlchsucrie .e. The
been its total neglect by those who owe it.
hasonbiaeleninhetlhtle
Other nations had something to say on the subject commenced at 1 o'clock ; Lord Leigh, president of
of their indebtedness, but Greece never so much the committee, presided, and congratulated the pro.
as mentioned hers. motels of the undertaking on their success.
_ _ I . . .

The neglect of it killed GIRO. He did not
understand the value of credit. He was not
aware that want of credit meant want of the
means of progress. Without progress his people
were discontented, and they told him so in
the most practical manner. In his retire-
ment he was anxious to amend his error,
and tried to ascertain on what terms the
debt could be settled. He promised also that
in the event of his restoration to the crown
it should receive his first attention ; but the
election of King GEORGE buried his hopes.
The present Knee comes from a race which has
maintained its public credit at a standard equal to
our own ; but if the same was to be done in
Greece, where was the money to come from?
Credit is money, and money begets money. An
offer is now made,%and with its acceptance com-
mences the credit of the kingdom. It is for credit
to open avenues for the influx of those means
of constructing public works which will develop'
the resources of the country, provide a market
for the farmers' produce at their own doors, and
enable them to pay their taxes in coin instead
of in produce as at present—thus enriching the
treasury, and enabling it to fulfil its obligations.
The problem, therefore, comes to this : if the
bondholders refuse the settleMent, then the king-
dom will remain at a dead-lock ; while if they
accept it, they will find that they have created
their own security, but may fancy that they might
have made a better bargain. It is a curious ano-
maly : reject the offer, and it will appear that a
good offer has been thrown away, because the
then condition of the nation will prove that a
better could not be given ; accept it, and the pro-
gresa of the nation will seem to show that the
offer might have been better.
One thing should be clear, that the Committee of
Bondholders would not have accepted this agree-'
ment as a preliminary one unless they had found
that they could not get a better. Certainly a
surrender of 2,550,000/. of old bonds, with all
their arrears, for 1,000,0001. of new bonds, seems
little enough ; but then the whole of the Greek
provinces of Turkey in Europe undertook the
liability, and now the little Kingdom* of Greece is'
called upon to shoulder the burden, and the ques-
tion is, how much ought she to be called upon to
carry P—Daily Y WA.

His lordship then read the report of the committee,
which, after alluding to the great success and objects of
the exhibition, stated that the number of exhibitors was
311, some of whom were from London. The total number
of visitors had been 98,569, exclusive of repeated visits of
season ticket holden and schools. Six thousand children
had been admitted. The committee bad meson to hope
that the attention of men of capital had been drawn to tho
capabilities of Coventry.
The Earl of CLARENDON was cordially received. He
said—ln a spirit of wise bene6oence it was determined
that, before that building became a great market, it should
become a great school to which not only the inhabitants
of Coventry, but of the surrounding districts, should be
attracted, not merely by curiosity, bat by the higher me-
tins of studying by the eye of mutate examination and
comparison, to be followed by subsequent reflection, im-
provement, and advantage. He deprecated any idea of
the citizens of Coventry being deficient in pluck, as
Insinuated in the report, and with all his heart he hoped
that the new trades spoken of would be established in their
midst and flourish, and that the exhibition would be
the commencement of a new era, and the town would
enter on a period of rinaina wee after the dark ages. He
expressed a hope that similar good results would ensue
from that exhibition tothoee which, he hoped, would follow
from the French Exhibition, though in •lesser proportion.
Englishmen must not deceive themselves. Flattery, which
was always injurious, was at the present time most deceit-
ful., We must—in a period when competition is so active
and universal, if we intend to keep our position among our
competitors, and what is snore, to win—we must improve.
Improvement was absolutely necessary, and no improve-
' matt was real, solid, or to be relied on but that
which proceeded from the exertions of the working
classes, not by their unaided exertions, for great assist-
ance they would require : bat in affording them
that indispensable assistance, and in putting our
shoulders to the wheel of progress, we were all
alike interested, because the interests of all dames
were identical. If the interests of landlord and
tenant, of manufacturer and artisan, or, generally speaking,
of those who provide the capital and those who furnish the
labour were supposed to be antagonistic, it was the result
of prejudice and ignorance. No work was greater or more
worthy of the philanthropist and well wisher of his
country than to endeavour to dispel that prejudice and
banish that ignorance by showing that all classes were fel-
low workers, and that we were all, though in different de-
grees, partners in the same concern. (Cheers.) Far be it
from him to deny that rank, and wealth, and social pod-
tion created distinctions enviable and enjoyable, but not
unattainable distinctions between classes, but that which
I really constituted the difference between classes was
I education, the mainspring of progress and success.
The day was gone by when a man of wealth and position
could afford to be uneducated and illiterate. Such an one
would be looked upon as an object of contempt, and as
one who, having neglected the opportunities of his posi-
tion, had also unfitted himself for its obligations. On the
other hand, a man might be born in the very lowest ranks,
without friends, or money, or advantages of that kind, or
hope of any ; and yet it had often been the case that he
managed to educate himself, or obtain an education which
enabled him to turn to the best account the genius or
talents with which he had been endowed. He ascended
through the different strata of society, by a self-acting
machine, until be stood in the light of his own eminence,
lamid theeulogyof the world. Such instances were not nume-
rous in our country, yet were numerous enough to forbid
any to despair, and induce all to take as their motto
1" Excelsior." The value and dignity of labour were never
more fully recognised than now. The working man was
about to be entrusted with a power which he never before
possessed—an enormous power for good or evil. He
I believed the great majority of working men would desire
to use that power, not mischievously, but judiciously, and
for good ; but they must be fitted to use it. When they
did use it, and found themselves raised in the scale of po-
litical life, and indirectly taking part in the management
of the nation's affairs. Working men would also desire
to raise themselves in their own sphere, and to obtain to
a greater command, not only over the material, but also
over the intellectual enjoyments of life. For that they
would restive political education benumb as they required
industrial education, and to a large extent scientific edu-
cation ; and no education would be sufficient or complete
which did not embrace religion. That must be provided.
It was not a matter on which we could sit still and
merely talk, any more than we could con-
tent ourselves with simply talking of the na-
tional defences. It must be provided if our pros-
perity was not to slacken—if our institutions were to
maintain their excellence and equilibrium—if our manu-
factures were to be supported—and if the great bulk of
the population was to consist of good citizens and Chris-
Uses. How it was to be effected was a serious problem,
involving many vexed questions to which it would be
then inappropriate to allude. It was a satisfaction
to know, as all must do, that the minds
of Rome of the most thoughtful men were
earnestly directed to this subject. If it were
recognised that education in England fell short of the
mark, and was not what it might or ought to be, and
that the consequence was a great evil and a pressing dan-
ger, he had no doubt that the problem would be solved.
There was one more thing which he ventured to say that
was needed by the working man—it was liberty. The
working man wanted his industry to be free ; his energies
to be unshackled. and his liberty unrestrained, to turn to
the best account Ilia labour and his shill. He fully ad-
mitted the benefits of association, and he did
I not deny the legitimate rights of combination,
but he firmly believed that if the working man
was • freer man and his employer too, that it would be
found within any given space of time the division of profits
between capital and labour would be more equitable, and
that the funds really available for the remuneration of
labour would be more abundant than ander the system
'which had hitherto prevailed. (Cheers.) His ObServa-
tines had merely pointed the moral—they could not adorn
the tale told by that building. He concluded by express-
ing a fervent hope that the program of art, taste, and rite-
chemical skill, so essential to the prosperity of Coventry,
would continue, and be a lasting memorial of their enter-
Priae
A general vote of thanks concluded the proceedings. A
concert and dinner took plans in the evening.

To-day the barrister site at Kensington for the
revision or the lista of the parishes of Chelsea and Ken-
sington.
SOUTH ESSEX REV ND:Ix. —The revision of the
lists of voters by Mr. D. R. Blaine, revising bar-
rister, commenced at Chelmsford on the 7th inst., and
closed at Stratford on the 15th inst. The liberals were
represented by Mr. T. N. Roberta, secretary of the Liberal
Registration Association, 5, Queen's-square, Westminster.
The tortes were represented by local solicitors in the vari-
ous districts. Subjoined is the result : Liberal claims
admitted, 356 ; tory ditto, 93 • liberal gain on claims,
263. Tories struck off register, 5;i3 ; liberals. 2:.7 ' • liberal
gain on objections, 326 ; net liberal gain, Stet. Numeri-
cally the new register will be 745 fewer than the existing
one, but the voting power will only be 543 less, there hay-
ing been 217 duplicates expunged and 12 admitted.
NORTH ESSEX REVISION .—The revision of the
lists of voters by Mr. S. C. C. Fish, revising barris-
ter, commenced at Saffron Walden on the 20th ult., and
closed at Witham on the Ist instant. The liberals were
nted by Mr. T. N. Roberts, secretary of the libe-
ral
ta:gistration Association, 5. Queen's-square, 'West-
minster. The tories were represented by local solicitors
in the various districts. Subjoined is the result :—Libe-
ral claims admitted, 197 ; tory ditto, Ib7 ; liberal gain
on claims, 90. Tories struck off register, 15' ; liberals
ditto, 126; liberal gain on objections, 62 : net liberal gain,
152. Numericallthe new register will be 25 fewer than
the existing one, but the voting power will only be 15 less,
there having been 45 duplicates expunged and 33. a-
d