The Sun.
London, England, 1854-06-30 00:00:00

[LEFT SITTING.]

HOUSE OF COMMONS—(THIS EVENING.
The SPEARER took the chair at four o'clock.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.
The Lords' amendments to the Hertford and Welwyn
Junction Railway Bill, and the Stockton and Darlington
Railway Bill, were considered and agreed to.
The following bills were read a third time and passed:—
Royal Conical Flour Mill Company ; Tees Conservancy ;
Ara bergate, Nottingham and Boston, and Eastern Junction
Railway ; Eastern Counties Railway (Purchase of Rail-
ways, &c.) ; Westminster Terminus Railway.
SUPPLY—COMMITTEE.
On the order of the day for going into committee of
supply,
Sir J. PAKINGTON asked why the grant of 6001.
a-year for the Bishop of , New Zealand, had been with-
drawn from the estimates. If he had had the honour to
retain the seals of the Colonial Office, nothing should have
induced him to withdraw that allowance in the manner
and at the time that it had been stopped. Without any
warning or notice the Bishop of New Zealand had received
notice in a private letter from the Colonial Office, intima-
ting the cessation of his salary. He (Sir J. Pakington)
thereupon instituted inquiries, and he now held in his
hand a written communication from a friend of the Bishop
of New Zealand, stating that the salary had always been
paid through the Colonial Treasury, and though the vote
did not appear in the estimates of last year, the bishop re'
ceived it as usual; and he now wanted to know why the
salary was stopped in 1853, and he wanted to know why
no notice had been sent to the bishop of the intention to
withdraw his salary.
Sir G. GREY said this was a case which must be treated
on general rules. Reread a despatch from Governor Grey
received three years ago, from the suggestions of which
the ecclesiastical payments from this country to New Zea-
land were abolished. Ho regretted that the salary should
be stopped, but it was unavoidable under the circum-
stances.
The subject then dropped.
EDUCATIONAL ESTIIfATES.
Lord J. RUSSELL, in moving these estimates, entered
into an explanation of what had been done. The total
vote was 343,873/. for the year ending 31st March next,
which included 80,0001., the balance due from former years.
The noble lord entered into various details on the subject,
and said it was not intended to make any change in the
system of education, either secular or religious, which had
already been established. The noble lord passed a warm
eulogium upon the efforts made in this direction by the
inhabitants of large towns ; but at the same time matters
were not yet ripe for the establishment of a
general system of education without exasperating
feelings of animosity among sects which it should be the
duty of the Legislature to assuage. (Hear, hear.) In
conclusion, the noble lord stated that the existing system
accomplished a considerable amount of good, though per-
perps not reaching to the extent which, when fully deve-
loped, it was capable of producing. He moved that a
sum of 268,0001. be voted to her Majesty, to defray the
expenses of the Educational Board for England. (Hear.)
Sir J. PAKINGTON gathered, from the tenor of the
noble lord's speech, that it was of the utmost importance
to improve the character of the education ; but, owing to
the religious difficulties which surrounded the subject,
he was afraid that the attempt to establish an
improved general system must be postponed to some
future occasion. (Hear, hear.) If that was so,
he thought the noble lord had shrunk from the question in
a manner unworthy of a statesman ; for he believed that if
the house approached the question with the determination
to deal with it fairly, both as regarded religious and secu-
lar instruction, a scheme might t.e devised which would
rklieve this nation from the stain of allowing its popula-
tion to be sunk in ignorance and degradation ; and such
a scheme when passed by the house, might be tried in
a place as Manchester, and if successful there, it might be
extended to the rest of the country. (Hear, hear.) ,
Mr. MIALL rose, and was
(LEFT SPEAKING.)