The Sun.
London, England, 1864-12-13 00:00:00

LONDON AND LIVERPOOL HOTEL.

The first ordinary general meeting of this company was'
held yesterday at the offices, King-street, Cheapside Col,
Knox, M.P., in the chair.
The Secretary read the report, which stated that on the
directors taking possession of the premises in Liverpool la
May last they commenced a complete reorganisation of the
management of the hotel, which had largely increased its
business, and which there was every reason to believe would
render it one of the most extensive and profitable hotels in.
the kingdom. The profits during the last six months had
been nearly 30 per cent. on the paid-up capital, and there
was a progressive increase in the gross receipts of more than.
20 per cent. The directors recommended that a dividend at
the rate of 10 per cent per annum on the paid-up capital be
declared.

The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report,
said they were able to do what few hotel companies bad
been able to do in the first six months of their existence—
pay a satisfactory dividend. Some dissatisfaction and sur-
prise had been expressed by one or two shareholders at the
refusal of the Stock-Exchange to quote the shares of their
company. This was not because two-thirds of the shares
were not taken up, but in consequence of
,the difference
between the prospectus and the articles of association. This
the directors offered to remedy, but they had as yet heard
nothing more from the Stock Exchange on the subject.
Mr STANILAND seconded the adoption of the report,
which was agreed to.
The dividend was then declared, and the business con-,
ciuded with a vote of thanks to the chairman and directors.

EMOSES AND SON'S
• HOSIERY and DRAPERY,
for all classes and all ages.

EOSESM
AND SON'S
HATS AND CAPS,
•
for all c asses and all ages.

:L1 MOSES AND SON'S
4 I • BOOTS and SHOES,
for all classes and all ages.

Li MOSES AND SON'S
OUTFITS,•
for all classes, all ages, and all climates.

~MOSES AND SON'S
, LONDON HOUSES,

154, 155, 15e, 157, Minories ; 83, 84, 85, 80, 87, 88, 89, Aldgate ;
500, 507, 508, New Ortord—street ; 1,2, 3, Hart-slrect ;
137, 138, Tottenham-court-road ; 288, Euston-road
Also, Bradford, Yorkshire.

MOSES AND S ON'S
■ 4
lilstabilshrnents are closed Every Friday evening at
sunset until Saturday evening at sunset, when business is re-
sumed until 11 o'clock. _

All articles are marked the lowest prices in plain figures.
Any article not appr,,ved of will be exchanged, or the money
returned.

List of Prices with Rules for Self-measurement, Fashion
Card, and our new pamphlet, " The Philosophy of Dress,"
gratis and post tree.

COALS.—The LILLESHALL COMPANY'S
COALS.
Direct from their own Collieries.
Marquis'. ..... .255. per ton. I Double.. 21s. per ton.
Top 245. „ Deep 22s. „
sell screened and delivered within five miles of their De-
pots, Westbourne Park-road, W., and 17, South Wharf,
Paddington, W., and Maiden-lane, N.
Best Coke lss. per chaldron.
Terms cash.
JOHN SCOTT, dole I,,gent.

THE THIRD EDITION OF " THE SUN,"
Containing the Latest SVORTING INTELLIGENZE,
Dan be had Every Evening of
U. R. GLENIE, NEWS Acmyr,
No. 4, Connaught-terrace, Hyde-park.

THE LATEST EDITION of " THE SUN"
supplied, as soon as published every Evening by
W. ALEXANDER (late BROOKS), Newspaper Agent, 21,
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HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
Tina DAY.—Morning, Ih. 46m.—Afternoon, 2h. 121 n.
To-mollltow.-Mornin g, 2h. 30m.—Afternoon, 2h. 54m.

jra
'tiej-iFirrt
ttt!...."!‘"K•fettop'4 , dr.

LONI)ON, TUESDAY, DEC. 13, 1861.

The K-ieg of PRUSAIS address to his army is
vile a curiosity in its way. It is difficult to under-
stand why a person in so distinguished a position
Aould choose to make himself conspicuous by thus
netting the opinion of civilised nations at defiance.
Every paragraph of the address is peculiar in its
wsy, but some call for especial notice from their
extreme style. In the first place, it begins thus:
"The glorious war against Danmark is ended—it
has besn followed by a glorious peace." The idea
of mentioning the un(qual contest waged between
a powerful kingdom and a weak one as "glorious"
teems almost incomprehensible. Mach cannot be
raid for the good sense, good faith, or good feeling
of S37ereign or subject where such expressions are
in vogue, and such opinions are current among the
population. When we are told that for nearly half
a century the armies of Prussia have been inactive,

we are tempted to wish that they had continued so
for a little longer; it would have been infinitely
better for their reputation, the welfare of others,
and the credit of their country. Certainly nothing
tends more strongly to prove the disastrous effects
of the let alone policy which the other nations of
Europe have adopted towards Prussia than the
perusal of this speech. In the plainest manner it
is shown how one evil has led to another, and how
far unscrupulous people will carry their privilege
of prosecuting their unfair attempts and unright-
eous claims: Many would not have believed at the
commencement of the war that matters would be
puilled to such an extremity, that such a consum-
mation would have arrived, nor that after all the
events would have been spoken of in such terms by
the King. Daring the last few years, however, the
ruling spirit has rapidly developed itself in King
WILLIAM, and he now, it may be presumed, ap-
proaches the standard of perfection, or is in a fair
way of doing so. What a falling off from the pro-
mises he once gave, was the spectacle in which he
figured as chief actor, the other day, when he en•
tered Berlin at the head of the troops returning
from Schleswig. What a position for a constitu-
tional Monarch to take, and huw unsuitable the
whole affair was to the consistency that should
attend the doings of a free people, and
one that has put forward the proud
pretensions of being so. It is enough, however, in
all conscience to tarnish the present, and throw a
blight over the future, without calling up the past
to take its ignoble share in the base transactions of
the late war. When the army is informed that their
achievements have " renewed the glory of the
Prussian army," it is virtually declaring to them
that the fame such as it was that adorned former
warriors and departed legions was acquired after
the same fashion, and that their exertions were
given to produce very similar results. There must
perforce be some brave and honourable men in
Prussia related to the worthies of olden time who
rebel in spirit at this wholesale assimilation of the
good, bad, and indifferent together. It is insulting
the common sense of those versed in military mat-
ters to persist in this barefaced manner to describe
the late contest es a glorious and noble affair, be-
cause under the most favourable circumstances
whatever no credit can attach to such a result as
that which inevitably ensued from the engagement
of forces so numerically ill adapted to each other.
What object is it likely that Monarch or Minister
at Berlin can propose to himself to achieve by the
utterance of such gross calumnies and extravagant
eulogiums as are to be met with in this oration.
The Prussians, all know, are already sufficiently
self-conceited and elated at the affair without their
rulers still further compromising what character
they have left, and setting aside the scruples of the
consciences, which it is but flattering to assume
that they in a slight measure possess. One gleam
of truth pervades this tissue of falsity; it is said that
the days of Duppel and Alsen are handed down to
future generations in the history of warfare. This
is unquestionably true, but after what manner, and
in what a light will they be surveyed. It is to be
presumed that King WILLIAM and his satellites
share the feelings that prompted the " aspiring
youth who fired the Ephesian dome, and
are determined to be remembered for some-
thing. It looks very like it at all events,
when we reflect upon the spirit which has
evidently prompted this address, and the gene.
ral tenor of its remarks throughout. Bad as the
whole is collectively, there is one passage which
stands out prominently as a violation of all proper
feelings of respect and reverence which animate
decently disposed persons. It is sheer profanity
for the Kim) to call Heaven as a witness on his
side for deeds which the earth may now refuse to
hide in her shelter. When we read the following
words in the address—" The blessing of Provi-
dence has rested upan you because you have feared
GOD, and have been faithful to your duty, obedient
and brave," it is really painful to peruse them. The
people who applaud such sentiments, and uphold
such principles, must be, indeed, sunk low in the
scale of upright and honourable communities, and
no extent of territory or increase of possessions can
compensate to a land that is thus destitute of the
one thing needful, the sense to discern be-
tween right and wrong, truth and
falsehood, crime and honesty. It is a fearful
thing to note to what depths of degradation men
sink when they make selfish gains their object,
aim, and end ; and the same rule applies, in a
more extended scale, to the condition of that
country whose glory is in its shame. How the
Sovereign of a Christian community can outrage
the laws of sense and justice by such utterances,
it is strange to think of. According to this theory
all the successful tyrants are saints or martyrs,
and their oppressed and acted victims sinners
and miscreants. The joy and pride of King
WILLIAM may be very great, and his " Royal
gratitude" may be very sincere, but pride goes
before a fall, and still more presumption. If the
standard of virtue bo measured by the statutes of
Berlin justice, woe betido the poor and indepen•
dent states of the world ; but not so have the
maxims of all ages declared the truth to be, and
the verdict of honest and honourable men is
against Prussian tactics now. while history will
hereafter confirm their judgment and ratify their
• decision.

Year by year the great question of education
comes more prominently into discussion. Year by
year more anxiety is shown to extend its benefits
to the ragged, the outcast, and even the criminal.
Churches and chapels of all denominations have
schoolrooms attached, and almost the first thought
of any active philanthropist who is willing to give
time and labour to the task of benefiting his fel-
low-creatures is how he may instruct the ignorant
and enlighten the darkened mind. Education, as
a State question, has occupied the thoughts of
statesmen and politicians very considerably of late;
it has given rise to some angry controversies and
a good deal of conflicting opinion, but all
parties are agreed upon one point—that it
is the unquestionable duty of the State to provide a
system of national education. Oar public schools
have come under consideration. The system of
teaching adopted in them has been analysed, criti-
cised, praised, and censured, and finally made the
subject of a royal commission. Our universities are
from time to time brought under notice by objee..
Lions to their exclusiveness and plans for the exten-
sion of their beneficial influence. Middle class
education is the best new form under which this
hydra has presented itself, aid, thanks to the acti-
vity cf the Science and Art Department it is not
altogether a verbal one. But while all
those signs of vitality are visible, and while
the great question with every one is how
to extend as much as possible the bless•
ings of knowledge, it is well to Fuse occa-
sionally to ask ourselves whether our progress
is always in the right direction, and, above all,
whether it rests upon a satisfactory and solid
basis. This question has just been brought before
the public by an ab/e correspondent of our con-
temporary, the limes, and as S. G. 0. 1 •
3 80111 e.
what of an authority in such matters, it is well to
' examine what he says with some attention. His
remarks are eminently deserving of notice, however,

from their intrinsic good sense and truth, and it
would be well if parents and teachers would study
them carefully. Leaving all the animated discus•
sloes as to the mental training of adults, the writer
goes to the foundation, and finds grave fault with
many points in the education of our children. He
sets forward the truth now generally known and
recognised, that the brain of a child is capable of
receiving impressions at a very early age before
either parents or servants suppose it can be hurt by
what it hears or sees. It cannot assuredly under-
stand all that strikes its attention, but a vague im'
pression is often made which it is very difficult to
eradicate. Hence the great mischief which results
from leaving young children much in the company
of vulgar and ignorant servants, from whose con-
versation they often derive much injury. S. G. 0.
refers as proof of this to those singular cases
in which children and young persons most
carefully trained and guarded from their in.
fancy have, in times of their delirium, used coarse
and vulgar language which their parents supposed
it was impossible they could ever have heard.
S. Gl. 0. very jastly says it would be wiser if
parents who lavish money on teachers and spend
much time and care in securing efficient instruction
for their children in later years, would be more care-
ful to get a better class of servants in the nursery,
since they leave their children so often almost ex-
clusively to their care. The evils of frightening
children are so widely recognised that most per-
sons are on their guard against them, but there is
no doubt that they are still frequently existing in well
ordered nurseries. Fits, convulsions. idiotcy, and even
death have been known to result from this cause,
but in hundreds of cases where the effects are less
terrible, and consequently less perceptible, they are
equally real, and show themselves all life long in
morbid nerves and weakened brain. Even when
servants do not mean to frighten children, they
often do so unintentionally by their own foolish
terrors and ignorant fears, while the threats which
the worse disposed use to induce quicksighted chil-
dren not to tell tales lay the foundation of deceit
and want of principle for all subsequent years.
Human nature is prone enough to cunning and
craftiness and lying, without having such qualities
assiduously fostered at the most susceptible age.
When the child leaves the nursery, and
sometimes, indeed, before it, new mischief
begins. Its tender brain is overworked by
an accumulation of lessons, while its growing
limbs are sacrificed to fashionable attire ; and free
exercise, open air and childish merriment are
strictly forbidden by the requirements of social
etiquette. The consequences are plainly enough
shown in the increasing prevalence of complaints
and affections of the head and nerves, while our
standard of physical health and strength is visibly
deteriorating. It cannot be too often reiterated that
in our wonderfully complex frame all the parts are
harmoniously balanced, and that an injury to one
disarranges the whole. A healthy body is the best
guarantee for a healthy mind, and there can be
no greater mistake in those who wish to
cultivate sound mental faculties than to ne-
glect physical requirements. If such is the
case when the frame is fully formed and the
task of growing over, what must be its importance
with young tender frames yet undeveloped ? Fresh
air, active exercise, and all that free childish play
which Nature herself prescribes, are the positive
wants of childhood; and if for these we substitute
long hours of close application in a hot schoolroom,
dress which cramps the limbs, and a stiff orderly
walk, with continual injunctions not to spoil the
good clothes, we need not wonder that we find a
result, not only of an enfeebled physique, but of
morbid nerves and weakened intellect. In the good
old days before fashion was heard of we had less gene-
ral intelligence, but we had more original thinkers,
more vigorous characters, more individual men and
women. Yet our advantages in the way not only
of book knowledge, but in physiology, in medicine,
and other practical sciences, are very great. The
secret is that we do not apply them. We should
certainly not expect a kitten or a puppy to thrive
if cramped and confined and forbidden to play or
run; yet the superior mental nature of the child,
instead of dispensing with such necessities, makes
them more imperative. This is hardly a case in
which if ignorance is bliss 'tis folly to be wise ;
but it is a very great pity that, knowing so much,
we do not apply our acquisitions a little more
profitably.