Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-11-05 00:00:00

THE DAY'S NEWS.

Honourable members of Parliament,:finding tho
times rather dull, are getting up a little excitement
for their own gratification, if not for the enlighten-
ment of the country. Mr. Disraeli has been making
a display in Buckinghamshire, on the occasion of
the annual dinner of an agricultural association.
The speech of the right lion. gentleman will
rival that of Lord .Palmerston, who astonished
the public, some years ago, on his opinions
respecting original sin in general and babies in
Amersham, on Tuesday. In the earlier part of
the day there had been a ploughing match, in
which 43 teams ere.faged. Mr. Disraeli was not
present at the spectacle, but experience told him
what it must have been like. "From what I
have seen of the peasantry of the county of Bucks,
I am aure that he suite gained the priz a did not
attain that distinction wi:hout a worthy struggle:"
Such is the spirit, and ambition, and skill of
a Buckinglir.mshiro labourer, as testified to by
the renreseniative of the county and of the
great Conservative party. Now, let us see what
rewards this bold and gifted race are thought
worthy to deserve when they add to their other
merits faithfulness and untiring service during a
long tern of years. " Prizes atneunting to IL in
each case were given for rick-tha'ching and rick
building, and for length of servitude in one place

as male or female hired servants, cr as agricul-
tural labourers." The first prize for " female
hired servants" was given to Hannah Smith
for 37 years' service with Mr F. Knollis, while
Daniel Child and James Dwight " carried off
the principal prizes' among the agrieultural
labourers—the former for 5.5 years' service with
the Hon. C. C.,Cavendish, and the latter for 44
years' service with Mr. W. Lowndes. The
limes makes an onslaught upon the whole system
for distributing prizes for long servitude, as in-
stanced above. A man would .be proud if his
father had earned the Bath or the Victoria Cross,
or a good service pension,. but can we fancy any
one risen from a humble station who would not
endeavour to conceal the fact that his father had
in the extreme of old ago been called up before a
set of squires and farm.rs, and, while tho plates
were being laid for dinner, and the port got out of
the collar, been presented with a pound and a
pair of breeches? No; there are some rewards
which confer pride and happiness, others that to
a self-respecting spirit must burn like vitriol. We
cannot but regret that the gentlemen of:England
should have taken to the distribution of these

sorry doles. That they Jiro offered without a
scrupl.?, a.►d accop-e•.i with ,u*. a blush is, to us,
one of the most melancholy facts in the history of
our time."

'Viscount Sanders, a few days ago, at Stoke-420n-
Trent,.took occasion to deliverhis.-opinioks on the
education of the working classeo. He said that
there „woe nothing more important in the world,
connee!ed.with the subjerat of education, than to
induce the population of the couWry to take a Ivan-
tage of the schools now almost everywhere esta-
blished. :But he deplored that such was not done,
and the consequence was that, notwthstanding'
the great .intreasa in schools, they found the
agricultural labourer just where he was before ;
the machine had made but liti.le progre.ss,
the collier rind miner had not improve I in intelli-
gence or morals. What was the reason of all that.?
Tiiey fo.und from _statistics that etims had not
decrease I, that those humiliating objects, pubic
gaols were, as large, if not larger, than .ever, and
that their number of inmates did not .decrease.
That sad of things led a number of benevo-
lent people—statesmen, clergymen, mantifae„urets,
and others—to consider wha: in the world prevent
ed the great machinery of
xpublic school's, with
their educated masters, from Producing a greater
effect upon the population ; aud they found that,
after ail, this complex educational mechanism was
only a great system of what might be called infant
schools ; that directly boys and Oda began to
reward the perseverance of the mazter—directly
their intellects and their souls began to be deve-
loped—they were taken from school by their
parents, jaat at an age wie i they were bNinoing
to prof": by instruction, and set to the labour by
which they were to gain their livelihood.
In addressing his constituents at Tynemouth,
Mr. Lindsay, NI.P. said that we have very much to
answer for in our government of India, Ho
believed that though we had been drawing large
am.ninta of reyepue from the people of India we
had been negleatio3 public works, that we had not '
been open.pg out gagals or adding to the facilities