The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-04 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 4, 1865.

Sir S. H, Northcote, M,P , on Art.

The annual meeting of the Exeter School of Art was
held on Monday in the Market-house, Exeter. Sir S.
Northcote, the President, was in the chair, and among
those present were Sir John Bowring and the High Sheriff
of Exeter (Mr. Cooper).

Sir STAFFORD NOR'THCOTE said he believed the trea-
surer's statement might be taken as read, the substance
having been given in the able report just read by Mr.
Westcomb ; and, that being so, it now became his (Sir
Stafford's) duty to move, in accordance with the usual cus-
tom, that the report be received and adopted. He thought
that they would agree with him that the report presented
many points of interest, and was, on the whole, one which
ought to give the greatest satisfaction. (Hear.) They could
not help feeling that the present was a time which, both as
regarded the cause of education generally, and as regarded
the circumstances of Exeter in particular, might be said to
have been rather a critical time, but at the same time he
might say that they hoped it was a crisis which would lead
to prosperity. (Hear.) They knew, and indeed it had been
referred to in the report, that art education in this country
had this year been upon its trial. He was not quite sure
that he ought not, as president of the committee of that in-
stitution, to have taken exception earlier, but at all events
he was bound to take exception now to the particular terms
in which the committee appointed during the past session
of Parliament had been alluded to. The report, which they
had heard read, spoke of it as a committee which was ap-
pointed for the purpose of inquiring into certain grievances
which had been alleged to be felt by the masters of schools
of art, in consequence of the minutes which were passed by
the Department for the Promotion of Practical Art last
year. He was bound to say that that was not quite correct,
and certainly not an adequate description of the functions
of that committee. It is quite true that complaints were
made by the masters of the operation of some portions of
those minutes, and they were the moving cause of the ap-
pointment of that committee, but the committee itself took
a much wider range. (Hear, hear.) It was appointed not
for the purpose of inquiring into this or that complaint, or
into a portion of those particular minutes, but for the pur-
pose of inquiring generally into the constitution, manage-
ment, working, and success of schools of art which were
partially aided by the Government, and thereby to inquire
into the principles upon which the money voted in Parlia-
ment for the promotion of art education was expended—in
point of fact, they took a review of the whole of that por-
tion of the department of Government which was charged
with the promotion of art education, from the commence-
ment io the time of their appointment. They examined
into the working of the whole system, and the difficulties
attending it, and those who would take the trouble to refer
to that report would find that the committee went rather
fully into the history of schools of art from their founda-
tion, but more especially from the time when a Parliamen-

be felt by the middle and upper classes, but especially by
the middle class, who, he hoped, would take a prominent
part in promoting the system, for the education of the
middle class was becoming of increased importance. One
of the great objectsnow wasthat the education of all classes
should be harmonised. Much had been done in promoting
the education of the lower class and in revising and re-
modelling upper-class education, but it was essential
that the middle class, the great depository of political and
social power, should be harmonised with the rest. Although
the education of one man should not be the same as that of
another who had a different object 'in life, still no class
should be left to think that what was important to one class
it was waste of time and foolish in another to acquire.
Whatever study could be commonly agreed upon as con-
ducive to formation of good character, of improved taste,
and instrumental in cultivating the faculty of accurate ob-
servation, that study was one:which no particular class
should acquire, but to which all classes should devote
themselves. (Cheers.)

of a sister or some female relative or both,
mourns their absence. It is probable that
five or six have perished. Beyond the melancholy
death of Mr.:Millen no other names have transpired.
The names of the wounded, so far as could be ascer-
tained, together with the nature of their injuries, are
as follows :—Mr. Davidson, express agent, Detroit,
head and face severely; a family named Ashley,
for North Danforth, Massachusetts, consisting of a
mother, son, and daughter, were more or less in-
jured. The mother was severely injured about the
head and face, and the son, it is feared, is injured
internally. He was completely bewildered for some
time. The daughter, Mary, had her arm broken,
and her leg severely bruised, and appeared to be
suffering intense pain. They were on their way to
Wisconsin, where they intended to settle. Mr. Wat-
son, a gentleman from Canada, internally, so badly
as to be unable to give an account of his residence
and friends. Ebenezer Hillyard, Mount Clemens,
severely about the head, face, and body ; N. Avery,
Port Huron, slightly ; T. L. Wells, head and face
slightly; Mr. Smith, Detroit, head and face,
slightly ; Hubbard Davis, head and face slightly ;
Henry Newton, near Ypsilanti, head and back se-
riously ; W. S. Lloyd, Cedar Falls, lowa, head and
shoulder slightly ; Martha Montgomery, daughter
of J. 0. Montgomery, Whitefield, N.H., head, se-
verely ; Mary W. Green, Topsham, Maine,, head
slightly ; James Bickell, London, C.W., arms and
legs, severely; IL L. Walter, Brownstown, Michigan,
shoulder and breast, slightly ; John Law, Toronto,
slightly ; J. Prescott Eldridge, East Constable,
New York, leg severely. These are the names of
the principal sufferers. There are two or three
others, however, who are reported to have found
refuge in some of the adjoining farm houses, where
their injuries, said to be slight, were attended to. A
special train left the central depot about 10 o'clock
for the purpose of removing the sufferers to the city.
Owing to the obstructions on the track only those
who were able to walk returned by it. Another
special was despatched over the southern road to re-
move those whose injuries required careful handling.
They were all brought in at a late hours and their
sufferings kindly administered to as was pos-
sible under the circumstances. The majority
of them are strangers in a strange land, and should
receive the kindest treatment from our citizens. It
is almost needless to say that all their baggage was
destroyed, which to several is an irreparable loss.
The mails were also burnt, with the exception of a
'ew letters.