The Sun.
London, England, 1837-11-28 00:00:00

0-t,t/),1,c1_,

DUBLIN-SATURDAY,

(FROM OOR OWN CoRriESPONDENT.)

The unexpected and startling announcement of Lord Juhit
Russell, the turn which the debates in the Commons have
taken, and the hopes and fears excited by the whole, have
created much uneasiness and alarm in the minds of the meet
mod: rate, and considerable sensation among all. In Dublin
all men are politicians, and you can read the public mind al
you walk along. There seems to be no occupation and Ile
idea but political ones. In London,. in perhaps all parts of
England, politics are subservient, or at least secondary, to the
business of life—in Dublin all business is secondary to politls
cal speculation. Iu the streets, at the hotels, in the hail of
the Courts—that great lounze of busy idlers—the endless topic
is the state of' the nation, or the chances of parties.
That the circumstances of this week should obtain a great
bold over the thoughts of the public world here will not there-
fore seem wonderful ; and 3ou will-not be astonished to hear
that Lord John Russell's speech is the only thing talked of.
The principal feeling respecting that speech is one c.f great
regret. The Irish people arc not in the same situation of
safety as the. English Reformers. All the improvements
sought by the latter are only the means to ensure wiser Go-
vernment and better laws, and involve in most instances but
abstract or ideal t ights. But with the Irish the case is very
different—their's is a struggle for life or death—whether there
may be execution without trial, or law without corruption.
Every earthly interest is at stake; and having once, and once
only, during so long a connection with England, obtained a
fair administration of even a bad law, they would be dew to
peril it, for the sake of vindicating an abstract principle.
When I say they, I by no means include the entire people;
but I am certain that a ;treat majority feel thus, and that
among the majority are all those who have an influence over
the public mind. These are the men who think most deeply
on the speech of the Home Secretary, and feel most intensely
its not in prob consequences.
All men, except the Ttoies, are loud in deprecating the
course pursued by Mr. %Vakley. However people may differ
as to the question cif keeping further faith with Ministers (and
that is fiercely discussed), there is but one opinion respecting
Mr. Wakley's amendment—condemnation. I have not heard a
single person attempt to palliate; much less justify, his conduct.
The supporters of the Ballot as an essential instrument of good
government, the admirers of Universal Suffrage as the only
medium of popular controul, and those who think those sub..

jects as partially valuable, and to be urged only concomitantly
with other improvements less extensive but more prattleable,
all join in denouncing his conduct as injurious to the best in..
tercsts and hopes of every party.
As to the reason alleged by Lord John Russell for speaking
plainly on the subject of the Ballot, there are many who are
satisfied with it ; many who admire his•candour ; but few who
can reconcile that reason with his extreme anxiety to exclude
from the Royal Speech all topics calculated to give offence.
He seems to be excessively desirous not to make her Majesty
a party to any offensive political principle at one side ; but
he did anticipate disappointment from another quarter, and
he came prepared to risk a differen2e of opinion, and to create
a division where all was confidence and union before. It
would be rash and foolish to ruffle the angry feelings of the
foes of good goverpment, but there was no delicacy to dare the
anger of its friends.

-To your English readers this discussion may appear old and
out of t ; but I have felt it necessary to put you in posses-
sion of the unsubsiding interest which the division and discus-
sion have evoked ; and the deep and settled anxiety felt by
a!l classes of Reformers oriothese subjects.
The news received through the provincial papers is void of
intereg, particularly at this crisis. The only feature in the
intelligence from the country in the slightest degree im-
portant is an account of a meeting of Magistrates,
held in the town of Tipperary, to petition the Lord
Lieutenant for the 'application of the present Coercion
Bill to the barony, of Clanwilliam. Serious outrages have
been lately committed in that barony, and a most revolting
murder, which the " State of the Country Journals" have given
about twenty various editions of—that murder is the principal
cause alleged for the application made to the Executive ; and
however atrocious the deed maybe, nothing could be less
in the Way of the calumniating press or 'the calumniating gen-
try, for it appears that it was occasioned by a family quarrel,
and long cherished hatred. The recent murder was but revenge
for a former murder committed by the victim on this occasion.
This may occur in any country, or under any law ; and indeed
very recenily a similarly brutal murder has been perpetrated
in England ; yet in Ireland it is mai° a pretext to proclaim
an entire district in a state only short of actual rebellion.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OP LORDS.—Nor. 27.

The llolve sat at Four o'Clock.
The Duke of Devonshire, the Earl of Haddington, and the
Earl of Munster took the oaths. .

Nothing further transpired' till the Loan CHANCELLOR took
his seat on the Woolsack at Five Minutes past Five.
Lord A BINGE R laid a Bill on the table, which was read
a first time ; but the Learned Lord spoke in so indistinct and
low a tone of voice as to be perfectly inaudible in the gallery.
THE BALLOT.

Lord YARBOROUGH presented a petition from the
inhabitants of Lincoln, praying► that Parliamentary elections
might be conducted by Ballot. The petition was very respec-
tably signed ; and %%hen the question to which it related came
before the House, his Lordship would be very happy to give
his assent to it.—(Cbeers.)

The Duke of RICHMOND presented a petition from the
Lord Provost and Chief Magistrates of Glasgow, praying
that all public and national edifices for the reception of the
arts might be thrown open.
NATIONAL EDUCATIONr
The Bishop of LONDON presented a petition, in the ab-
sence of the Bishop of Gloucester, signed by 5,048 of the
male inhabitants of Cheltenham, on the important subject of
National Education. An attempt was now making, to which it
was right to call public attention, to pate the way for the intro-
ibx Lion of a system of education, compulsory, and purely secular;
that was to say, a system of education of which the public
should be compelled to take, and from which should be isx-
eluded the Word of God, not only in its entire form, but in
short selections. This was attempted by a number of per-
sons, calling themselves the Central Society of Education. The
Society, though not numerous, was still not inactive ; and he
was happy now to have an opportunity of cautioning the public
in the strongest terms against the promulgation oPits princi-
ples. One of its members was a distinguished member of the
Catholic Church, who has a seat in the Lower House of
Parliament, and he, in conjunction with an English barrister,
had been in the country lecturing on the subject. Notwith-
standing the defeat they sustained at Liverpool, they convened
a meeting at Cheltenham over which leading men of the county
presided, and then they set forth its principles. , - The result
was, that a-petition, emanating from that meeting, was sent
round for signatures in favour of the system, and about 140
names ha ias yet been obtained to it. The principles- of
it were dangerous in the extreme, and upon the face
of the system included a more extensive exclusion of
the Word of God.--( Hear, hear.) The clergy of
that town 'lost no time in calling an opposite meeting
of their townsmen, which was most numerously attended, at
which many very eloquent speeches were delivered, and from
which came the present petition to Parliament.—(Hear,
hear.) There was another petition signed by females, but the
present petition was signed by upwards of 5,000 males. He felt
it to be his imperative duty as a Minister of the Established
Church to enter his protest against such a system of education
in this country. There was a notion prevailing that it
was the intention of her Majesty's Government to favour
such a system ; but he could not possibly give credit
to the foundation of any such rumour.—( Hear.) Such
compulsory mode might do either for Saxony or Prussia,
but it never could do for this country. He was aware that
the Noble and Learned Lord on his right ( Lord Brougham)
enterta'ncd strong opinions on the subject of National Educa-
tion ; but lie was not aware that even that Learned and Noble
Lord had ever gone so far a 3 to exclude religion from the sys-
tem of education in this country.

Lord de SA UNI ARE Z had-been reque;ted to support the
petition, and he heaitly concurred in the statements which
it contained. J-le thought there could be no greater blot upon
the character of a Ctiri&ni country, than 0-at a system or
education should be established upon any other basis than the
'Scriptures.
EXPULSION OF CATHOLICS FROM
_ . PARLIAMENT.

The Duke of NEWCASTLE, who spoke in a tone nearly
inaudible, postponed the presentation of the petition of which he
had gis en nctice to Friday next.
EDUCATION.
Lord BROUGHAM said,--My Lords, Thad net the ad-
santage of hearing the observation; oleic Right Rev. Prelate
in presenting his petitios, as I had only just entered the Homo
as"the Clerk was reading it. Not having heard his observations
therefore I shall abstain from making any remarks on the me-
rits of the petition. But, in answer to one part of the obser-
vations which I did hear, although I will not say anything of
the Right Rev. Lord's commentary upon the petitions, lest I
should misrepresent; him ; yet I will say, that I do not be-
lieve that there is on the part of her Majesty's Government,
or of any. other association of men, either in office or out of
oflic, either corporate or unincorporated, or of
any individual who has education at heart, and who
is impressed with its paramount importance "to this country,
'any intent'on of proxoting a legislative measure, either with
the purpose of making education compulsory upon the people
—( God forbid—unless you wish to make education hateful to
the people)--or to, establish any system of education,
excluding religion. Although that is my opinion
of the conduct which others would pursue —and
I think 1 may confidently say that I am right
in that opinion--there is one party at least
to whom my Right Reverend Friend has courteously
alluded—(Cries of " Hear")-1 mean myself, of whom I
can speak more positively. Indeed, my Lords, I should steer
wide and clear of coming within the scope of the observations
which I have heard from the Right Rev. Prelate. The Bill
which I have before had the honour of presenting to your
Lordships, I shall have again to present to you early in the
next term; (the Noble and Learned Lord intending after. the
recess), and I consider that it embraces the most important
part of this important question.—(Hear, hear.) I hope
that in what 1 sa,y I may not be deemed to commit
myself in another direction. For, if lam of opinion that
education should be by no means compulsory upon the people,
I any equally of opinion that there ought to be the most
careful rejection and exclusion of any principle in the
measure which could give to the Established Church, or to any
Single sect,. any preponderance, dominion, or power
exclusively and " paramountly" over the education of the
peoi;le of this country. I have now to present to your Lord,
ships a petition closely and intimately connected with this
subject, from the great and important town of Sheffield..
The petition is signed by eleven thousand inhabitants oit