The Sun.
London, England, 1849-07-25 00:00:00

WAS most difficult to be obtained by honest means, alto•
nether untainted by crime. How could he advise them
to go and ask for that which of his own knowledge he
Was t),wilre industrieue, well conducted men could not in
more than one instance out of three obtain. The re-
formatory system carried out in the pul)lie gaols had
failed, hut it would succeed if the crientnals were placed
in a position where they would not have to endure more
dean human nature could stand. The system of emi-
gration ought to be encoureged with regard to the
children_ attending the regged echoel,, and on receiv-
ing a certificate of good conduct they should be sup•
plied by the Government with a sum of money suffi-
cient to enable them to go to the colonies. The
best results had already flexed from the countenance
given to those children who wished to emigrate. In
point of fact, ten times more good was effected by the
1,5001. expended under the ragged school system than if
200,000/. were laid out under the present system of prison
disaipliee. Of all systems ihe workhouse was the worst
in which to train children such as he was now bringing
under their consideration. They had a great evil to deal
with. They had before them these 30,000 children, and
what would they do with them? Let the House recollect
the filthy and extremely ignorant state in which they
were generally found. No one would employ them, and
the only fool they had was obtained by begging or by
stealing. How could such children get education, or
any means of improvement? Tinny were, therefore,
driven into crime, and into the worst of practices.
What, then, di I these promoters of raged schools
do? They opened echools for their anception, and en-
deavoured in every way to gain them over to improved
habits as wed as to educate them. A child at these
Scheels must be ,naintained by its pereuts, and then as
a reward for good conduct they wished to be able to
hold out to them the prospect of their being sent out to
the colonies, and being placed in the way of bettering
their condition. All children to be entitled to this born
are revirecl to be of good health, to have attended some
industrial class for a certain period, to be able to say
the Lord's Prayer, end have some knowledge of their
religious dutits, and to be maintained by their parents
fur the period of five months. Parliament made a
grant every year for education to the amount of
100,0001., and from a participation of any portion of
this grant the children of ragged schools, from their
habits and necessities, were altogether excluded. What,
then, had been done? They had established 82 schools,
in which they had 80,000 children, and he could not
speak too highly of the efforts of the voluntary teachers.
Under these circumstances it was to the Houle of
Commons they looked to take up that duty which pri-
vat-s benevolence seemed no longer able to sustain. Ile
submitted, then, the issue to the representatives of the
[ea*, relying that they would ant in the spirit of the
prayer which was upon their lips every evening—
" That it would please God to have mercy upon all who
were desolate and oppressed, and upon the afflicted and
the fetherlese."—(ficar, keen)
Sir GEORGE GREY, after complimenting the Noble
Lord for the active and praiseworthy part he had taken
in the promotion of ragged schools, referred to the early
efforts of Sheriff Watson, of Aberdeen, in the establish-
ment of these schoehe who had set an example which bad
been ably followed by his Noble Friend (Lord Ashley).
He thought, however, if his Noble Friend had made
him,elt better acquainted with the subject, he would not
have made the observatiens h' had thrown out about the
prisoners at Pentonville and Parkhurst. He seemed to
think that that class of prisoners were let loose upon
so. i•, None, however, were sent to those prisons but
prisoners who were under sentence of transportation.
Notbi g, he (Sir G. Grey) would admit, could be more
gratifying than the manner in which it appeered those
boys had expressed -themselves on their arrival in the
colonies; and he had letters which had been received
from persons sent out fron Parkhurst sad Penton-
vide, which he would be happy to put into the
Noble Lord's hands, and which he believed, were of
au equally gratifying character. He agreed with
his Noble Friend that the amelioration of society
must be of slow growth, but he would caution him
against thinking that by any means at the disposal of
Parliament anything could ho done to off et a rapid
change in the condition of that class in whose welfare
he was so much interested. After referring to the mo-
tion which the Noble Lord had submitted to the House,
he prece..,eced to express his doubts as to the propriety of
carrying it into effect. Much us they were bound to
sympathis© with that particular class of children to which
he referred, they must not overlook the danger of hold-
ing out a premium to crime—(Hear, hear)—and what-
ever Parliaments did it must make a distinction bee
tween the children of honest parents and the children
of bad habits and propensities. The Right Hon. Gen-
tleman hero read a document, setting forth the views of
Government at the time the experiment was first made
of tending children from ragged schools to the colonies
by aid from Government. 'the Noble Lord had told
them that there were 30,000 children of that class al-
luded to in London, and averaging the expense at
101. each, a sum would be required amounting to
300,000/.—(l-fear, hear.) It would be necessary that
if any step should be taken by Government in furthe-
rance of the Noble Lord's scheme, it would be oho'
lutely necessary that other children—children of in-
dustrious and honest parents, should be participators in
the benefit.—(Hear, hear.) He had received letters
from Glasgow claiming to have some aid such as had
been extended (as we understood) to schools in Aber'
deen. He did not think that Parliament, by any enact-
ment, could enable any class to feed and clothe them-
selves, and he therefore doubted that by any system of
emigration they could confer the very great advantages,
which the Noble Lord seemed to anticipate. He would
mention that ho had a representation from the grand
jury at York, last year, with reference to certain crimi-
nals who were convicted of sedition and other offences,
setting forth that these people had come to a sense of
the errors they had committed, and that they dreaded
being again cast upon society; and the gentlemen of t._b:
grand jury, therefore submitted to his consideration tut,
wisdom and the humanity of Government enabling that_
people to bettor their condition in the colonies. lie stated..
to the grand jury, in his reply, that he should be me!!
happy to comply with their euegestion if it were in bib
power to do so, but that the applications from persons 0,
unimpeachable character were so numerous that Govern'
merit cunt not possibly afford to these people,
who were
of course entitled to a preference, the aid and assistance.
that was required, and ho was -consequently compelled
to refuse the prayer of the grand jury. If the House
should give their assent to the Noble Lord's proposition
he would say that it must not in fairness be limited to
one particular class. The interests of society requiredthat the children of the honest and industrious classes
should at least be participaters in any advantage which
Parliament could hold out, and, above all, they should
take care that any benefit they conferred should not be
given as a premium to critne.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. PAGE WOOD was glad that
an experiment had
been made in carrying out the views which the Noble
Lord had laid before them, but be confessed he had, from
the firet, doubts of the success and propriety of the
scheme, and his opinions were grounded upcm the fact that
they had in the workhouses over the kingdom so many
orphans who could not be provided for. He thought►
therefore, that it was their first duty to attend to the.
claims which such a clas of children had upon them. An
appeal • same of the kind as this r: be urged with at-
this n
least equal force in behalf ~f th ca .:hods in connexion-
with many Dissenting congregations. He Was quite fa—
miliar with tho diffic7lties of the question, and assured:
the. House that it was quite necessary for them to be on,
their guard against their benevolent instincts, which, as.
in the ease of almsgiving, frequently prompted them to.
bestow money on those who were either quite unworthy'
of it, or who, being worthy of it, became immediately'
inactive, and ultimately ruined. He thought, too, that,.
considering the great difficulty which poor and honest
struggling people experienced in procuring the moiler
which was necessary to enable them to emigrate, it we*'
most unjust, to say nothing of its being extremely
wrong in principle, to allow dishonesty and crime to be—
come a stepping-stone to that which frugality and pru-
dance could not obtain.—(llear, hear.) But, supposing.
that the House should adopt the principle of the resolu-
tion, then he should suggest that the grant should not
be made from the public purse, but should be admi-
nistered in the several localities by the individuals who
contributed to it.
Lord ASHLEY replied, and the resolution was by
leave withdrawn.
Lord DUDLEY STUART postponed until .next ses-
sion his motion for a Select Committee to inquire into
the case of Krishna Rao Wittul of Baroda.
BRITISH GUIANA.
Mr. HUME move the following resolutions on the
evidence and report of the Select Committee on British
Guiana:—

That it appears by the evidence taken before the
Select Committee on British Guiana, that that Govern-
ment has been carried on for the last ten years in oppo-
sition to the expressed views and opinions of the elective
members of the Colonial Legislature, and that the sup-
plies are now stopped in the colony, by centiew d oppo-
sition, to the great injury of the colony."
" That this How eis of opinion that the time has ar-
rived
e reduced, when
public expenditure of the colony should
D
ase de fired by the colonists; and also for the
hen the
establishment of a responsible Local Government, which
should have full power to decide on the extent and na-
ture of their establishments, and to provide the means
for paying the. same."
The Commit ee, after pursuing it labours under very
disadvantageous circumstanees, inasmuch as the colonists
who complained had no notice of the appointnvnt of the
Committee, and were only admitted upon pedeion to give
evidence before it,had made a report which, in his opi—
nion, was quite inconsistent with the evidence. It was
the report only of a majority of tEe Committee, and as
such a very meagre, haltand-half, no report at all. The
cases of Ceylon and Guiana were brought before the
House in the present sessiun as proper subjects of inves-
tigation by a Select Committee, and Guiana had been
taken first, as being the more urgent of the two. The
House would remember that the supplies for carrying on
the Government of Guiana had been stopped, that the
publicinstitutions of the colony bad been at a stand,
and the general branches of the Colonial Government
were at variance. With regard t the Home Govern-
ment of the colony, the conduct of Lord Grey was not
only against reason but against law, looking at the
institutions of the country. The colonists bad
a majority in the Court, but they had in evidence
that, as the Governor had a double vote, he had the
power, under the direction of Lord Grey, to overrule.
the wishes of the elective members. The minority of
the representatives had petitioned Lord Grey for a re-
duction of salaries, but they had received for answer,
that no reduction should be made in the civil lilt, bug
everywhere e!se they might make what reductions they.
pleased. He thought the Colonial office had treated
them in with hez.r:l,ss indiff,renco. The combined Court
had refused to vote the money for the civil list, and there
was no resource hut anappeal
meat. The colonies c anplained that all the promises
to tha Imperial Perlis
_
of the Colonial offico had been broken. The Noble
Lord at the head of the Colonial department would not
make the least concession, and therefore the House was
called upon to interfere, Where was uns continued tat