The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-15 00:00:00

to found flourishing families in other countries, of
the we-trained servitors who hold respectable posi-
tions ; when we see all this, and ask ourselves
what these boys and girls might have become
had they been left entirely to the evil influences
which surrounded them, we shall appreciate
in some degree the good effected by the Ragged
School Union. While it was still matter of dis-
cussion under what form of national education the
lower strata of our population should be reached,
before it was decided whether that education should
be gratuitous or paid for, secular or religious, our
ragged school teachers set to work. In waiting for
these various questions to be settled, for the claims
of conflicting interests and prejudices to be recon-
ciled, they resolved to do what they could in the
least expensive, least exclusive, and simplest man-
ner. That " Union," which has now become a re-
cognised element in our community, was at first
hut an uncertain and isolated movement ; but
where poor rooms and scanty accommodation were
once forced to content teachers and pupils, we now
see substantial buildings, bearing on their front
that title which might well surprise a stranger—
" Ragged Schools." The work they have accom-
plished is best told in the words of Lord SHAFTES-
BURY'S appeal. lie says :—" We show our success
by quoting the opinions of the magistrates, of the
police—by citing the diminished records of juvenile
delinquency ; by stating the numbers we have sent
to her MAJESTY'S colonies; and, specially, by re-
ferring to the thousands we have placed in trade
and domestic service, whose conduct both justifies
and repays the care their friends have bestowed
upon them." In another aspect of the case, Lord
SHAFTESBURY justly considers the ragged school
system is of considerable benefit to the public at
large. It unites in the ranks of its teachers per-
sons of the most varied classes and positions, bind-
ing them together by the one common bond of
sympathy and fellow labour. As a proof of this,
Lord SHAFTESBURY cites a memorial addressed to
him some few years back, which was signed by
2,300 male and female ragged school teachers.
" The memorialists represented 175 different call-
ings, passing through every gradation of society,
from persons of independent incomes, to the dock-
yard labourer and the wretched needlewoman. Such
a combination, he adds, was never before seen in
any nation of the world, and it proves how widely
and how deeply the need of these institutions is
felt." The state of affairs which the noble president
of the Union brings before our notice is, therefore,
to be deeply regretted, and wo cannot but hope that
the prompt liberality of the public will do forth-
with something to remedy it. It seems that the
society has suffered severely from its efforts to keep
up the schools during the period when the distress
in Lancashire diverted so much of the national
charity from its accustomed channels. So low
have its funds fallen, that at the beginning of last
month the balance at the bankers amounted to no
more than six shillings ! This statement is made
on indisputable authority, therefore we cannot hope
that the case has been overstated. As a further
incentive to public benevolence, it may be men-
tioned that 27,000 destitute children are educated
in these schools. Let us consider what a vast and
formidable army of criminals and outcasts is here

How heavily shall we be taxed by their sins and
their vices. Assuredly, as THOMAS HOOD'S labourer
sings, tha money saved upon their early training
will be demanded with heavy interest for the gaol,
the hospital, the workhouse, to which their future
steps will most probably lead them. Surely, then,
this arpeal will not be made in vain, but help will
be forthcoming for this great and good work,
whether from regard to the interests of justice and
order, or from feelings of common humanity.

The Plot against the Emperor of the French

TO THE EDTTOR OF THE SUN.

fSIR,—Accusations of every description have been,
since the arrest of four Italians in Paris charged
with an attempt against Louis Napoleon, heaped on
me by the organs of the French Government, and
repeated by the English press.
It has always been my known habit not to dis-
cuss accusations put forth against me by avowed
enemies, and I feel a special dislike to do so when
the accusations come from the agents of a man who,
as far as in him lies, is by mere brutal force depriv-
ing my country of the unity which she claims, and
making Rome the basis of operation of the bri-
gandage infesting the South of Italy.

Yielding, however, to solicitations of dear Eno
lish friends, I do declare,—

•
That I never did instigate anybody to kill Louis
Napoleon ;

That I never did give to any man bombs, air-guns,
revolvers, or daggers for that purpose;
That Trabuco, Imperatori, and Saglio are entirely
unknown to me ;

That, therefore, the meeting summoned at Lu-
gano, the absurd place of sublieutenant given to
Imperatori in a brigade of four men, and the giving
of the photographs to the men, are absolutely false-
hoods;

That my photographs with my autograph at the
bottom, are sold for the " Venice Emancipation
Fund," at the office of the Unita Italiana, at Milan,
and elsewhere ;

That no letter, with or without money, has ever
been addressed by me to Greco in Paris.
Greco I know. Hundreds, I might say thousands,
of young men belonging to our national party of
action are known to me. Greco is an enthusiastic
patriot, who took an active part in the enterprises
of 1860 and 1861 in the South of Italy; and he has
had, as such, contact with me. Any note of mine
in his possession, if there be any, must, however,
belong to at least nine or ten months ago.
Enough in reply to accusations hitherto merely
grounded on French police reports.
I am, Sir, yours faithfully,
Jan, 14. JOSEPH MAZZINI.