The Sun.
London, England, 1853-05-04 00:00:00

VOLUNTARY SCHOOL ASSOCIATION

The fifth annual meeting of the friends and su rtell
ppo
of this association was held last night at the FreeraLli
Tavern, Great Queen-street—S. M. Peto, Esq.,
in the chair. the
The CHAIRMAN, in opening the proceedings (3- fits
evening, dwelt forcibly and eloquently on the bel!eol
to be derived from the voluntary principle in educatio ed
matters. The hon. gentleman was loudly Cheerio
during the delivery of his speech, the principleet
the following quotation furnishing the chief argusee„ of
" This association was formed in 1848, for the purP°"-ija
promoting religious education independently of State,ao,
or control. Under the present Governmental sYs'es,
though nominally religious, all classes are taxed °,2.00
dow Judaism, Popery, Tractarianism, and other 'l' the
of error, whilst just four-fifths of the fund raised f?rsife
purpose are expended upon schools essentially eicii:a
and sectarian. The new measure proposed by 14° itteo
Russell on the 4th of April, continues to ,the am°. the
of council the power it now possesses, of directingoo
religions education of the country, whilst it ree!divg
from it even the semblance of responsibility, by Pr°in eet:
for that purpose a fund beyond the control of Paru'„cle
It also embodies the scheme of local rating, recomule'toio
by the Manchester and Salford Committee, with ors it
modifications, which render it still more obnosioilc;o,
not practically inoperative." The hon. gentlemse,t,
eluded by calling on the secretary to read the W.' hit
The SECRETARY then read the report, from whciebool
appeared that the principles of the Voluntary °ects,te
appeared so commanding that it only required ° 'OO
them clearly. The committee believe that edec-1,0
should not only be religiims, in the wide and uneerro
state put upon that term by the Government) .s
thoroughly Christian—and that the State, as it /tiolit
competent to give such an education to the people, °t,rof
not to interfere in the matter, but leave it to vule4ia,
effort. The confidence of your committee has, ,
the past year, been greatly strengthened by a varle'selr
considerations ; and their own sentiments upon the f pr.
ject have found an eloquent echo in the aderess
Harris at the last assembly of the Congregational v","g4,
Although the financial statement presents an eut-000
ing aspect, the committee would urge upon their P;sor
the importance of augmenting the resources of the, te,
ciation, that their wishes may be realised both as
garde the enlargement and efficiency of its lv:v,pir
establishments, and the increase of the fund
cable to the extension of schools in our rural louree;oo4
The amounts of subscriptions and donations
during the past year have both increased, while
_n-oest
penses of the male normal school have been 217-oolr
and those of the female branch have been hut
till iiisiderably augmented, notwithstanding the grc3,l3
creased attendance. From the treasurer's state.o""
appeared that the balance in hand April 1, 16°1i005,
563/. ; annual subscriptions, 6771. 15s. 6d. ;
5891. 2s. ; collections and sale of pamphlets, 21/' her
making a total of 1,852/. 19s. The expenditurea
been 1,1901. 15s. 3d. ; leaving a balance in 0/I
6621. 4s. id. f the
Resolutions in conformity with the objects eorP°f
meeting having been submitted were carried
%,crte
mously, and the proceedings terminated with
thanks to the chairman.

WILLIS'S Rooms, ST. JAMES'S.—A grand evening war-
cert, for the benefit of some foreigners in distreroce
given at the above rooms on Monday, upon wit at°
sion the following eminent artists generously ga —ola.•,
valuable services :—Mesdames Fiorentini, 000
Newton, Ferrari, Taccani, Tasca, and Enderson;,rolk-
Bassano, Alleyne, Cole,.and Stabbach; Signori 10
Ferrari, O4,
Onorati, Li Calsi, and Herr Ganz ; P-13ser
Madame Bompiani. The concert opened wit ontifi
hoven's " Septuor," arranged for four performa,,rs opiViv
pianofortes--perfectly rendered by Madame PI d goo'
and Herr. Ganz, assisted by Signori Li Calsi ansilo°,
real. Miss Bassano sang with her usual taatti -OK;
did Madame Tasca. The duet of Madame t 147
Ferrari was delightfully sang, as was also the 118 04
Miss Alleyne And Herr. Brandt. Miss Stabka:te_,ser
in exquisite voice, and sang a very approPri 302:1
son sung for the first time, by Glover, entitle
reel/.
Morning," which was charmingly given, and saves
well-deserved applause ; her other song,_, feeliog;
Horne," was sang with much pathos ant%iso io
Signor Onorati, in a rornanzi by Verdi, as - th*
duet by Donizetti, with Miss Stabbach, was all
could be wished. Mrs. Alexander Newton olniool•
zai t's• " Queen of Night " with her usual
itibrointoorthe
The pianoforte duo of Signori Li Calsi and 1:5 of the
for two instruments, on therilim's Chorus pas -0
Lombardi of Verdi, arranged by Mon gisse
itself a gem, and artistically performed• esnd
Cole, in Mendelssohn's duet, "Greeting, .ved
H. Smar't's duet, " The Greenwood," recelhich th%
merited applause for the artistic manner with 7,oo;zet
gave their duets. The concert closed Nyith, 014 1);
" Terzetto," from The Lucrezia, besutifunir cooora';
Madame Tasca, Herr Brandt, and Sign:d, And
The room was fully and fashionably attend_ it w-
hope the concert realised the object for v42l°'
given. Signor Li Calsi was conductor: our logiviteri;
THE AUTHOR OF " SAM SLIME. t a now
loving readers will be delighted to hear th:f. judge litole
is immediately forthcoming from the pen
the
burton. It is in two volumes, and ben Modern
title of "Sam Slick's Wise Saws an ted,"
stances; or, What he said, Did, or inven