The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-13 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY, MAY 13, 1864.

Lord GRANVILLE is one of those fortunate poli-
ticians who contrive to keep on good terms with all
men, and both sides seem to concert in bearing tes-
timony to his gracious demeanour and universal
suavity. In the storm of debate he is ever careful
in his expressions, and so times his replies as to ex-
ci:e no bitter feeling and wound no prejudices. Of
course, in a more genial sphere, and among an
auditory who meet for a common object and are
united in their sentiments, ho can appear to
more advantage and meet with no opposition to
his benevolent welshes and cordial sympathies. On
Wednesday he presided at a meeting at Burlington
House for the purpose of awarding certificates and
medals to those who bad passed with honours at
His lordship,
the University of London• who wore
informed the meeting that,
his robes as Chancellor,
in order to be present among them, ho had obtained
permission from the QUEEN to absent hiresself from
Court. In treating of the various subjects which
appertained to his theme, his lordship expressed his
satisfaction that they had contrived to retain among
them those principles of a liberal and comprehen-
sive character which had always distinguished that
University. It is a great proof of the necessity of
establishing some institutions of this extended class
that so much support and patronage is always
accorded to it. Doubtless, some exclusive rules and
regulations are necessary in certain quarters, and
may be productive of great benefit in effecting the
objects in view, but still it is highly requisite that
some establishments should exist in which a more
impartial rule should hold sway and reign para-
mount as its guiding Inflaence and informing pride
ciple. Lord GRANVILLE had the proud task of
commenting upon the vast improvement that had
taken place in the condition and prospect of the
University of late years. There NI ec© nearly double
the number of candidates in 1863 to what there
were in 1857. This increase is not owing to any
facilities afforded by the examination, for that
has been still more extended, and of a more
searching, character. Everyone knows that a man
of experience in public speaking, still more a
fluent orator and an accomplished debater, can at
all times, and in all places, make a good case out of
very little, and with ingenious description and
dexterous management may impart a very animated

tone to his discourse, and impresses his hearers
very favourable. Lord GRANVILLE, however,
possiessed this advantage, and stood on this van-
tage ground, that proof were not wanting to
illustrate his words, and he accordingly adduced
this unanswerable argument in favour of the
benefits conferred by this university, of which he
that day treated. This year, for the sixth time,
there is at the University of Cambridge a senior
wrangler who is one of its members, and also
there are a second and third wrangler also, be-
sides many others who have taken very distin-
guished honours. These circumstances certainly
spank volumes in favour of the success of the
t frees that are made to promote progress and attain
efficiency. It is not often that so satisfactory an
account can be given of an institution, and in the
present instance it is the more gratifying, because
there has been from time to time a great prejudice
engendered against this university on account of its
more liberal and extended views. It is well, then,
that answerable testimony should be afforded to its
excellence and utility. Lord GRANVILLE made
some very sensible remarks concerning the mode of
education that was carried on in different places,
and on the peculiar nature of university instruction.
It is only of late years that this subject has been
mooted at all. People used to go on as if it was
an established fact, and a well known thing, that
whatever was the order of the day regarding educa-
tion at these places must be right and fitting. The
question is, however, not what course of study trains
up scholars of solid learning, and proficients of bril-
liant excellence, bat whether from those
seats of study issue men fitted for
the business of life, who are qualified to be of ser-
vice to themselves and others. The Commission of
Inquiry approved highly of the course pursued at
the London University as to what was required of
scholars before being admitted at all within its
precincts. Lord GRANVILLE explained the im-
portance of this strict rule being enforced, because
it is the only way to compel parents and masters
of schools to make a change. Every one knows
how addicted people are to old established rules and
regulations. Many pedagogues will declare all
new ideas a sham, and all strange suggestions a
perfect mockery. To guard against the narrowing
tendencies and contracted scope of these prejudices
it is necessary to take every precaution. If the
heads of a University enforce their edict that such
and such th:ngs must be studied before an entrance
is permitted, it follows as a matter of course that
all embitious of the privilege will make themselves
in some way or other acquainted with the deside-
ratum of information. It stands to sense that
many striking alterations are highly imperative,
for as Lord GRANVILLE forcibly put it, it ec as
shown that the large mass of students quitted the
University " with a great knowledge of cricket
and a very good knowledge of rowing, with only
that sort of Latin and Greek which is perfectly
useless in after life, and entirely destitute of ma•
thematical, scientific, elementary truth, a know-
ledge of history and of their own country, which
it must be admitted are desirable if possible to
attain." It is a great pity that many cultivated
men will fancy that no way is right but what they
themselves have previously taken, and that all suc-
ceeding generations must follow in their wake
until the crack of doom. Far otherwise is
the view taken by the wise and experi-
enced ; they can appreciate the good of
their own style, without at all ignoring the benefits
conferred by other means which a more advanced
state of society may deem to be requisite. Lord
GRANVILLE did well to dilate upon this topic, be-
cause he thus furnished food for reflection to 'his
hearers, when the first excitement of the hour was
over. The more the fundamental principle that
guides and governs all connected with Universities
is recognised to be, that the main object is to Et
youths to be men of service in their day and gene-
ration, fitted to fulfil with honour and credit the
station appointed for them by their Maker, fitted to
serve their fellow men, and to adapt their talents to
be a benefit and blessing to themselves, the better
it will be for the state of society and the recipients
themselves. Lord GRANVILLE has well performed
his, and it is to be trusted that his earnest exhorta-
tions and eloquent language will not be thrown
away, but stimulate and encourage all who heard
them to renew their energies and press on to the
prize of their calling, making it their endeavour to
attain what should be the end and object of all
training, whether school or college, the privilege of
becoming " useful and virtuous citizens of that
great country to which we are all so proud to
belong."

It is satisfactory to find an idea or a theory put
to practical use. We have all heard so much about
the celebration of the three-hundredth birthday of
our great poet that it is pleasant to find the COM-
memeraticn leaving some tangible results behind it
—not melting away into the things of the past
without effecting any other purpose than giving
occasion for a temporary rejoicing. The opportu-
nity, however, has been turned to good account by
the managers of the Royal Dramatic College, who
have seized the moment when the public sympa-
thies are awakened on behalf of the greatest of
dramatists to bring forward the claims of the pro-
fession for kindly help and encouragement. It is
proposed by these gentlemen to establish a new
public school for boys and for girls, to be called
" The Shekspere Foundation Schools," whose dis-
tinguishing feature should be to have an endowed
foundation for a limited number of scholars, who
must be the children of actors, actresses, or dra-
matic writers. By this means it is hoped to com-
bine the benefits of an institution with the nume-
rous advantages of a free public school. This very
excellent scheme does not indeed own its origin to
the Tercentenary Festival, but since it had been
long cherished by the projectors, it was felt that
this was a fitting opportunity to invoke the aid of
the public in endowing the foundation. A public I
meeting was held on Wednesday at the Adelphi
Theatre, under the able presidency of Mr. CHARLES
DicErNs, whose admirable speech set forward the
claims of the proposed institution on the public for I
encouragement and support in so clear and forcible
a manner as to carry conviction to the hearers.
There was no r.d misericorcliam address, no mourn-
ful lamentation over the errors or misfortunes in-
cidental to the profession, but a brave, cheery,
manly appeal for a little kindly help in giving the
first start to an establishment which should here-
after pay its own way; a demand for a helping
hand in pushing off the vessel, which, once afloat,
will need no other assistance. "The school," said
the chairman, after recounting the origin of the
scheme, " is to be equal to the beat existing public
school. It is to impart a sound, liberal, and com-
prehensive education:and it is to address the whole
great middle class at least as freely; as widely, and
as cheaply as any existing public school. There
are foundation scholars at Eton, foundation
scholars at most of all our old schools,
and if the
public, in remembrance of a noble part of our
standard national literature, and in remembrance
of a great humanising art, will do this thing for
these children, it will at the same time be doing a
wise and good thing for itself," I answer to a
possible objection, Mr. DICKENS remarked that it
was a singular thing that the children of actors and

actresses very seldom followed their parents' profes-
sion, so that there is no reason to fear overstocking

the already overcrowded ranks of minor players.
With the hearty English nature belonging to him,
Mr. DICKENS bestowed cordial praise on our public
schools, and more especially commended the honest
self-respect which had hindered the promoters of
this scheme from making it an exclusively chari-
table asylum, and had induced them to throw
open their school to all comers of those sturdy
middle classes which form so important a part of
our English social system. There appeared to be
some doubt on the part of some gentlemen present
as to the risk of parents in an independent position
getting upon the foundation, and it was suggested
that a clause shculd be introduced in its charter ex-
pressly limiting the benefits of gratuitous education
to those whose circumstances really need such
assistance. There was a strong feeling, however,
on the part of the meeting that it would b© un-
wite and unseemly to brand the foundation scholars
.with the stigma of poverty, and put a distinction,
as it were, between them and the other children.
It would not be the same as any other charitable
educational institution where all the children are on
the same level, but as the school is to be thrown
open to the public, the insertion of such a condition
would be invidious. Besides, as Mr. TOM TAYLOR
and Mr. B. WEBSTER explained, every election
must, according to the rules of the society, be a
public one, so that there is no risk of the child of
wealthy parents reaping the advantages designed
for those who need help. Publicity is, as we all
know, the best protection against any underhand or
unfair dealings, and so we may reasonably hope
that the substantial benefits of this institution will
be reserved for those on whose behalf it is founded.
The plan will commend itself to many who might
be more indifferent to the claims of refuges and
asylums. It is always a good thing to give
a fair start in life, and a good education
is the best patrimony. The fact of throwing
open the doors of the schools to all comers
has a substantial advantage, since by so doing the
managers, as we have said, hope to make them
self-supporting. If they are conducted on the
principles and with the spirit of our other public
schools, there is little fear of their ultimate suc-
cess, especially as they are to be situated in a part
of the country where no such establishments exist
at present. The question of middle class education
has lately occupied:a good deal of attention, and
wise men urged the necessity of putting within
their reach the same advantages that Rugby,
Eton, and Harrow confer on the higher classes.
Therefore these new schools may be looked upon
as the first step towards supplying this want, and
in so doing the managers of the Royal Dramatic
College have shown the foresight and good sense
of practical men of business, instead of the indis-
cretion cnce popularly attributed to their profes-
sion. The charter of the college expressly provides
for the establishment of schools, but their erection
has been delayed in favour of the erection of a
harbour of refcge for those having, as Mr. DICKENS
pathetically expressed it, their feces turned to the
setting sun. The young could afford to wait--
they could not, and their needs claimed the first
care. But there could be no more fitting time than
that of this national commemoration to begin this
good work, to show our sense of the claims of those
who toil for our pleasure. and to express our sense
of what we owe to the art of which SIIAKSPERE is
the undisputed king.

The annual budget of national receipts and ex-
penditure is always one of the most important poli-
tical events of the year. The question of pounds,
shillings, and pence may affect, as we all know,
matters seemingly far beyond its range. It may
influence a nation's policy, and by so doing inter-
fere with the proceedings or interests of other
States. A country whose exchequer is known to
be flourishing is regarded with very different eyes
by the statesmen and potentates of Europe from one
whose finances are at a low ebb, and her friendship
or her menaces are often respected accordingly.
In younger States, the condition of the finances is
always a matter of very great importance, since
they only lack the credit and prestige of older
nations, which may enable them to recover in one
year what they lost in another. The finances of
India were, as we all know, until very recently in
a highly unsatisfactory position. So great were
her embarrassments indeed, that serious fears were
entertained as to her prospects, and many wise and
cautious men gravely advocated the abandonment
of our possessions, since, instead of being a source
of profit, she was likely to produce nothing but loss
and discomfort. Thanks to the new and enlight-
ened policy which, in spite of many serious obstacles
and difficulties, has presided over Indian finance for
the last few years, so great and startling a change
has been wrought that the most lugubrious of sight-
seers cannot now indulge in the gloomy anticipations
once so general. Since the inauguration of the new
system there has been a continual and decided pro-
gress. Year by sear matters have mended until, in
the budget of 1863, Sir CHARLES TREVELYAN felt
himself justified in anticipating a considerable sur-
plus. But, as we know, there has of late been con-
siderable anxiety felt as to what his disclosures for
1864 might be. Thanks to the expenses of the
frontier war, the tightness of the money markets
and the receipts on account of opium, which ex-
ceeded Mr. LAING'S estimates by £1,750,000, fall-
ing short of Sir CHARLES TREVELYAN's calculations
by more than a million, there have been rumours
current that the prosperous financier would have
this season to report a deficit. Happily, the event
has not fulfilled these sinister predictions, and a
balance of £30,000, though far short of what was
reasonably hoped for at one time, is sufficient to
spare Sir CHARLES TREVELYAN the necessity of
imposing new and unwelcome taxes, or of making
any addition, direct or indirect, to the fiscal burdens
of the people. It seems that much of the uneasi-
ness ropec, ing the finances was occasioned by a
miscalculation regarding the expenses of the Sit-
tana war. The authorities, on that occasion, acted
with commendable promptitude, and being uncer-
tain how wide or deep the disaffection had spread,
having at the moment no means of distinguishing
between the insubordination of a few mountain
tribes and an organised Mussuloaan conspiracy,
they moved up men and batteries in large num-
bers ready for action. By this means the out-
break was promptly suppressed, and it was surely
wiser, after the lesson of 1857, to be too well armed
than too little prepared. It was known that the
expense incurred must have been great, which
knowledge prepared men, we suppose, for the mis-
take we have aliuded to. The war was declared to
have cost a million sterling, and had it done so it
would, of course, have produced a disastrous effect
upon the Budget. As it is, with the cost of the
Sittana expedition, reckoned at less than one quar-
ter of the sum supposed, there is, as we have seen,
a bare surplus, and consequently had these calcula-
tions been correct, there would naturally have been
a deficit of something like three quarters of a mil-
lion, We may, indeed, be thankful that the pro-
gress of Indian development has not been checked
by such a weight, which must have pressed heavily
on her industry and restricted her awaking energies.
The mistake about the war arose from the fact that
the cost of the force in peace time, which was of

course provided for in the regular expenses of the
year, was reckoned among the extra expenses of the
war. So that in spite of the opium disappoint-
ment the Calcutta public is able to rejoice in a
surplus instead of a deficit. We are sorry to Trod
part of the surplus attributed to the
saving in the Public Works Department. £5,000,000
was the sum allowed, but owing to several hin-
drances and drawbacks not nearly that amount has
been spent. Possibly the obstacles were not of a
nature to be easily removed ; but we fear that there
is not that spirit and energy put into the prosecu-
tion of these important works that their public
nature would justify. The salt trade, which is said
to be failing, returned but little, and the Customs
receipts are less than the estimates. The land
revenue and the Excise have, however, come to the
rescue and helped to restore the balance. Sir
CHARLES TREVELYAN reduces the duty on tobacco
from 20 to 10 per cent., and also—a less popular
measure—raises the import duty on cotton goods
from 5 to 71 per cent., with adjustment of value to
market rate. This part of the measure has
excited a strong opposition in commercial circles,
and most of the Bombay journals concur in de-
nouncing it as retrograde and impolitic. It will be
seen whether Sir CHARLES may be induced to re-
consider this part of his Budget. For the coming
year the estimated expenditure is £45,340,000, and
the estimated revenue £46,160,000, thus leaving a
surplus of over £BOO,OOO. It remains to be proved
whether so favourable an augury will prove correct,
or whether the monetary crisis of last year, with
which the Government proved so powerless to deal,
will reappear in the autumn. But at present we
may content ourselves with rejoicing that Sir
CHAS. TREVELYAN has successfully passed through
the ordeal of £217,700 deficit on his estimates.