The Sun.
London, England, 1847-04-22 00:00:00

LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 22, 1847.

COURT CIRCULAR.

The Queen and Prince Albert rode out on horsebttck yes-
terday, attended by the Hon. Miss Kerr and the Equerries
in Waiting, Major-General Wemyss and Captain the lion.
A. H. Gordon.

Lord John Russell had an audience of her Majesty yester-
day, at Buckingham Palace.
Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and. the
Princess Royal took an airing, in an open carriage and four,
yesterday.
Their Royal Highnesses Prince Alfred,' the Princess Alice,
and the Princess Helena, took their accustomed airings yes-
terday, in the Royal Gardens.
The Royal dinner party yesterday, at Buckingham Palace,
included her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, Lady
Augusta Bruce, Baroness de Speth, the Earl of Liverpool,
Lord George Lennox, Colonel the Honourable C. B. Phipps,
Mr. Charles and the Honourable Mrs. Bruce, and. Captain
Francis Seymour. _ _ .

The Band of the Coldstream Guards attended during
dinner, and performed the following pieces : •
' Grand Selection from " Robert le Diable"—Meyerbeer.
Valse—"Fleur de Marie"—Barnet.
Duet—" What do I hear" (Matilda of Hungarv)—Wallace.
Wedding March from " Midsummer Night's Dream"—
Mendelssohn.

Original Polonaise—Jullien.
Among the visitors yesterday to view the pictures of the
Queen and Prince Albert, and the Royal Family, is St.
James's Palace, were the Portuguese Minister and the
Baroness de Moncorvo, the Earl of Ripon, the Earl anti
Countess St. Germans, the 1341 and Countess of Minto, Sir
Charles Adam, Lord Campbell, and Sir Robert and Lady
Peel.

Her Majesty and Prince Albert honoured Mr. Moon
yesterday by inserting their Royal autographs in the sub-
scription books for the forthcoming engravings from the
pictures by F. Winterhalter.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Bent took an airing
in a carriage and four yesterday.
Teir Royal llighnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cam-
bridge, attended by Lady Augusta Cadogan and Mr. Ed-
mond Mildmay, honoured the Duke of Wellington with their
company at dinner yesterday at Apsley. House. In the
evening their Royal Highnesses accompanied the Duke of
Wellington to the Concert of Ancient Music, at the Haile-
ver-square Rooms, his Grace being the Director for the even-
Ina. The other Noble Directors also accompaniedthe illus-
trious party to the performance.
Sir T. B. Lethbridge, Bart., and Mr. Henry Chard had an
interview with Viscount Palmerston, yesterday.
The Governor of the Bank of England and the Deputy-
Governor had an interview with the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer yesterdav, at his official residence in Downing-street.
The Rev. W. Tyrrell had an interview with Earl Grey
yesterday at the Colonial office.
Lnrd Colborne and Mr. Hamilton had an interview with
the Earl of Clarendon yesterday at the office of the Board
of Trade.

Mr. Robert Hyde Greg had an interview with Lord John
Russell yesterday at his official residence in Downing-street.
Sir T.. 8. Lethbridge, Bart., Mr. Henry Chard, and Mr.
C. W. Stokes had an interview with his Excellency the
Spanish Ambassador yesterday respecting the claims of the
Spanish bondholders.
Mr. Rigby Wason had an interview yesterday with the
Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Viscount Torrington, Governor of Ceylon, attended by his
suite, has proceeded in the Oriental, on his way to the seat of
Government, Ceylon.

GOVERNMENT SCHEME OF
EDUCATION.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SlR,—Lord Lansdowne and Lord John Russell are
reported to have admitted in Parliament that the Roman
Catholic schools are precluded from educational grants
by the existing Minutes of Council, while cautiously
leaving the door open for their future admission through
a revision of the Minutes. The Minutes of 1839, now
in force, are said to require the use of the authorised
version in schools. Can you point to such a minute? I
cannot, find it. I find that the National and the British
Schools are entitled, as such, to claim grants under certain
economical conditions, but that any other schools have
to make out a special case. What then does the Minute
say about the use of the Scriptures in the special class of
schools? Nothing at all about the version—even the
use of the Scriptures is not absolutely required, but a
preference is promised to the schools that use them
daily. The words are these:—
" Th© Committee will further give a preference to
schools in which the religious instruction will be of the
same character as that given in schools in connexion
with one or other of the above-named societies ; and to
those in which the school committee er trustees, while
they provide for the daily reading of the Scriptures in
the schools, do not enforce any rule by which the
children will be compelled to learn a catechism, or
attend a place of Divine worship, to which their parents,
on religious grounds, object."—Minutes of 1839-40, p. 14.
Such, Sir, is the Minute in question. Nothing about
authorised version here. That phrase occurs in reference
to Church of England Schools, but I believe nowhere
else. Under this Minute the Catholics are just as ad-
missible as Methodists, or Unitarians, or any class not
connected with one of the privileged school societies.
Few applications have, it is said, been made from any
such classes • no doubt, because it is not pleasant to
apply specially and get a grant as a mighty favour, or be
reused as not special enough. By all means let this
tasallthcelasCseosunapcipllyhafvoor
grants
ds
on equal footing ; but let no doubt be expressed or per-
mitted meanwhile as to its being the honest purpose of
dr oe ,Te andeve dl
the Government and the will of the supporters of these
Minutes, throughout the country, to assist education
without any religious preference or exclusion whatever.
I am, Sir, yours,
EDW. HIGGINSON,
Unitarian Minister.
Wakefield, April 16, 1847.

SMELTING ORES.
(From
ithe
wash
SouthAustralianeldonazsette
Monday
question, and more especially for the purpose of taking
into consideration some advice recently received from
Gazette,
Septthe 2sm6.eng )lti
A
Van Diemen's Land relative to the advantages possessed
by Schonter Island for the establishment of smelting
works. This island lies off the eastern coast of Van
Diemen's Land, to the northward of Port Arthur, is little
exposed to the weather. and abounds with coal, which is
said to be of quality similar to the Welsh coal. It was
represented that coals can there be supplied to the fur-
nace at 28. per ton; that convict labour could be ob-
tained at a cost of from 6d. to ls. per day; that the
freight would be about 11. per ton, or if cargo were sent
both ways, by sending ore to the island. and bringing
coal to Port Adelaide, it was estimated that it could be
done as low as 10s. per ton.
The first view of the subject would lead to the almost
irresistible conclusion that Schonter Island must become
the Swansea of Australia, or, at least, that by smelting
a portion of ores in that place we shall be enabled to ob-
tain fuel in return cargo at so low a rate as greatly to
enhance the economy of operatine• here upon the other
more tractable portions. Before, however, acting upon
this suggestion, which would
necessarily involve the
maintenance of two establishments, and thus, to a certain
extent, a double expense, to say nothing of the ques-
tionable economy which is usually consequent on similar
works carried on in different places on a small scale, it
would be well to look more closely into the question.
The first remark which suggests itself refers to the
data upon which the proposition is founded. Taking
for granted the sufficiency and convenience of the
harbour, the quality of the coal, and the price at which
it can be supplied, and confining ourselves at present to
the labour question, and considering the peculiar nature
of the work to be done, it is perfectly clear that the idea
of obtaining even convict labour for such a purpose as
smelting at ls. per day per man will prove on trial
altogether delusive. A man working over the furnace,
although a convict, could not be maintained upon such
a scale of diet as might suffice forsthe shepherd, the farm
servant, or the quarryman. The operations to be per-
formed will require, for the most part, not only a superior
degree of intelligence, which perhaps may be found among
convicts as readily as elsewhere, but also a degree of care-
fulness and attention, and even of zeal in the success of
what is going forward, all which we fear cannot be com-
manded in the class of persons proposed to be employed.
Powerful inducements,. in the shape of pardons or other
indulgences may be held out; but, in the interim, the
expense of labour will be found to cost at least double
or treble the estimated sum, with the exception of
those to whom the mere mechanical part of the work is
intrusted.

s te u
success known
Assuming, however, the entire correctness of the esti-
mates of fuel, labour, and freights as they are given, the
apparent saving upon establishing two smelting works,
the one in this colony, and the other in Schonter Island
(for on no other supposition woeorvueel,rdaactnicidoe rraedbihonevgeatntohytehsseaavpviilin,aggn,
ab hment
many
of onnvee
after paying for the freigohha.etso theiis ore),
s.wojealdteaadminoeont to
.;
taob obuet
e2ffteett6eid. pbeyr
smelting
ot
ifn g metal,ith
charcoalsaving,
we have
imported
t lie
originally proposed, eitheprpwarieteht
andniibxet m:nraenroeafpgeeoamrteeesdn
lot
ecoxasrple,onossree
tacurmpsetting
en
soutfpt
hbtaiwst
operating upon
arceolot notinuliikt3 likely,
lyo
the double cost of superintendence
thenie ri
ce
s consequent
that with th the
dispersion,
for three-
fourths differentimn teendocfncibtu,uasrlicintgieenssis;;ewt
distincthh ei e uh n, aaysorni dietadbelhsea
so r
single establishment,
for some time to come, to raise more ore than would
them; and, last of
rae
ntl a11,3w, the fact cdtw thohinac th
wthsareneits
of
fropwehrliych swupilpllyg
fourths of the whole world, can only support
eight houses. how can we at present hope .
its operations. If S
properly to
maintain two ? The scantiness of our mining popula-
tion imposes a certain limit upon the productiveness of
our mines, and until labour is procured in adequate
abundance, their productive capabilities cannot be greatly
increased. The ore upon the ground, at present, is not
in the unmanageable profusion which would warrant the
adoption, summarily, of the proposed plan; and we con-
fess, moreover, that it would be -scarcely fair to our
neighbours across the strait to throw upon them the re-
sponsibility and expense of a first experiment. Let us
begin with one establishment here, for which we possess
all the requisite scientific and mechanical knowlydge.
If that succeed, the credit and the profit will be our own ;
if it fail, either from the deficiency of fuel, or its greater
expensiveness, or it it become insufficient for the wants
of our mines, then we shall be legitimately entitled to
engage the assistance of cur Van Diemen's Land friends,
and to share with them a full portion of our mineral
es and pains.