The Sun.
London, England, 1839-06-21 00:00:00

CHARITIES;

Mr. D. W. HARVEY moved an address for a re-
turn of the amount received by the Colonial or any other
Gcvernment Department, under the name of Lady
Michie's Charity, and of the application thereof.—
Agreed to. Also for a return of the names of principal
clerk and chief clerk, and salaries of 900/. and. 600/.
a•year, alluded to in the head of the estimates for the
Commissariat Department.—Ordered.
EDUCATION.—ADJOURNED DEBATE.

The Order of the Day for the adjourned debate upon
the subject of Education was then read.

Mr. D'ISRAELI said that he felt great difficulty in
addressing the House on this occasion, but the deep
interest lie took in the question, and the profound con-
%jct.= that he felt of the vast influence which the de-
cision of this question was calculated to exercise
on the future prosperiLy of this kingdom, had
induced him to solicit the indulgence of the
House, which he trusted he should not abuse.
The Hon. Member for Waterford, who he was
afraid was not now in his place, in his able and tem-
perate speech of last evening—a speech pith which
every one who listened to him must have been de-
lighted and interested, as they must in every speech
emanating from a gentleman who is thoroughly master
of his sub:ect, had told them that no satisfactory settle-
ment of this question could be come to—that no expec-
tatinns on this subject could be realised except by means of
central organisation—meaning that the Government
should interfere to place education under the superir..
tendence and controul of the State. The theory 'was
specious, but he doubted if it was consonant to the expe-
rience of this country. Miley looked to the social progress
of the country they would not not find th©t it °vied much
to central organisation, or to the interfere,nce of the
State, but that it owed all to the thoughtrad enterprise
of society. The Hon. Member for Waterford would
hardly contend that any of our great 'public works had
owed their existence to the ioterference of the Govern-
ment, or to the principle of central organisation. A
greet foreign writer had said that there vras not a
single road, not a single bridge, not a single canal, which
oeed its oiigin to the Government ; and he would ask
the Honourable Gentleman, in those applications of
science to the purposes of social life, which were
tl:e peculiar characteristics of the present age, how
much we were indebted to central organisation,
or the assistance of the State ? In short, the
inability of the State to render efficient assistance in this
manner was so manifest, that they were at the pre-
sent moment unable to pass measures even for the
regulation of the police, of steam-boats, or of railroads.
It had been the wise policy of our ancestors tt) take a
contrary view of the subject ; with them it had evft
been a maxim that society should be strong and the
State weak, they had ever been of opinion that ee
maintain their rights as citizens they must do their
duties as subjects. He ascribed to this gryst principle
the foundation of a great system, he ascribed to this,
their having realized the two great blessings of social
life, liberty, and order—( Hear, hear, bear)—to the
union of liberty and order—order not disturbed by
national injustice, and liberty not disturbed by
popular outrage had been reserved for England, and
England alone. He would take it for granted that the
President of the Society for Education, who had addressciel
the House last night, was willing to a
do justice to the
people of this country. It became a question in the
present instance, and many others of a similar nature,
that they should in the present state of the country exa-
mine and consider well what were the effects of curtail-
ing the object of s:.lf-government in the people of England.
It appeared to him that the secietv of education—the
school of philosophy, with all their vaunted philosophy.,
were fast recurring to that system of society which wris
the remnant of a barbarous age. the
The basis er,