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

COLONEL WILSON PATTEN, M.P., UPON
EDUCATION.

The prizes and certificates won by the members
of the Aocrington Institution at the late Scienoe and Art,
Society of Arta, and Lancashire and Cheshire Union ex-
aminations, were distributed in the Peel Institution,
Aocrington, last week, by the Marquis of Hartington sad
the Right Hon. Colonel Wilson Patten, M.P. Alter tie
preliminary proceedings had been gone through,
Colonel WiLscier Parrir-sr addressed the meeting. He said
the education question was • nest difficult one; it had
baffled all the efforts of parliamentary authority ; but he,
like the chairman, Loped that the passing of the Reform
Bill would lead to a settlement of that question. During
the forty years that he had represented that county his
attention had been unceasingly given to the question of the
education of the people, and he had come to a conchi-
sion that the impedimenta in the way of a settlement did
certainly not rest with that department of the legislature!
to which he bad the honour to belong. (Applause.) On
the subject of education lie believed that Louse repro-
rented the people of the country moat thoroughly ; the
difficulty rested out of doors. We were a nation as much
divided in our opinions as a nation could well be upon
many points in politics, and religion, and upon everything
that was of material consequence to our general welfare.
We had all our opinions with regard to education, and
there was scarcely a subject upon which so great a variety
of opinions existed as upon that ; that variety was reflected
iu the House of Commons, and hence the difficulty. He
believed that when the question wan settled out of doors it
would soon be settled in the House of Commons, because
in his opinion that house correctly represented the feelings
of the people. (Hear, hear.) In the course of the last few
days he had seen by the newspapers that there were
symptoms of a great alteration in the public udnd which
might materially assist in arriving at a sound conclusion
upon this matter. Among those who differed upon that
question of ',location there were those who, on the
highest principles, had always advocated the voluntary)
system. He observed that some of the moat distinguished
leaders of the voluntary principle were prepared, for the
sake of securing popular elementary education, to abandon
the opinions they bad held for many years. His friend,
Mr. Mine., M.P., had announced publicly that he had
given up the opinions that he formerly held on this sub-
feet, and another distinguished leader of that party bad
also expressed the same feeling. But that was not all ; it
must he recollected that people were divided on the sub-
ject of religion, and there was the natural and praise-
worthy jealousy of those who thought deeply on religious
emitters of having their children educated by those who
differed from them. That was another difficulty the
legislature had to contend against, and it wee perhaps the
greatest, for be believed the majority of the people,
however they might differ upon other points, were um.upon this—that education unconnected with religion was
not a proper education for the great mass of the people
of this country. (Applause.) There was another branch
of education more immediately connected with that
Institution upon which he wished to say a few
worth—education which enabled the artisan of this
consitty to compete with the artisans of the continent.
It had probably been observed by many that in
the reports that hod been drawn up respecting the
Paris Exhibition, nothing was more remarkable, nothing
perhaps more painful to Englishmen, than to see
the general tendency to confess an inferiority in those
branches of manufacture in England which depend upon
art and science as compared with those of France. It had
been stated that that superiority in which they had gained
ground on the continent was attributable to the freer
exercise of the talents of the people in arts and science,
and in everything connected with the highest branches of
manufacture. He believed so, too; and a greater man
than the, the late Prince Consort—(applause)—tried to
instil the same idea. (Hear. hear.) With a forethought
that in all matters did him the highest honour. he never
conferred • greater benefit upon this country than when
be suggested that the people should institute exhibitions
of works of art, not so much for the sake of art itself as
for the advancement of various branches of manufacture
in this country. We had had in several parts of the
country ample means of seeing the effects of those ex-
hibitions. But it was not all on the wrong side at Paris ;
in several branches of manufacture we far out-rivalled
foreign countries. A French commissioner had told him
that there was no nation on the earth that had made such
in the art of wood carving as England. (Hear,
progress That gentleman was a commissioner in lsl2 and
1862, and nothing had surprised him more with regard to ,
England than the application of the art of wood carving.
He (Colonel Patten) believed that a, ose front the institu•
tion of schools of art in which that branch of manufacture
was more especially looked to. The object of the Prince
Consort was not so much to advance art simply in con-
nection with art as with manufacture. He (Colonel Patten)
hoped that, with the same object, art would be encouraged
for the sake of manufacture in that district.

Mr. W. 0. Young, a shipowner and broker of
Newman's-court, Cornhill, died suddenly yesterday morn-
ing. It is reported that hie recent bankruptcy so affected
his mind, that he was seized on Sunday with paralysis,
from which he never rallied.

&MERE THUNDERSTORM AT HULL.—Between
one and two o'clock on Saturday afternoon a severe thunder-
storm passed over Hull. The chimney and roof of a house
in Myton.strest was struck by the electric fluid, and the
premises were seriously damaged, but fortunately no person
was injured. About half an hour after this occurred' a
house in Anne-street, Osborne-street, was struck4light-
nine, and several of the tiles of the roof were pl ed up
and thrown into the street. A bay was also atruc down
by a bah of lightning.