The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-20 00:00:00

onimv Ant

LONDON, THURSDAY, MAY 20, 1847.

PRIVY COUNCIL.
Her MAsEsTY held a Privy Council at three o'clock
this afternoon at Buckingham Palace, at which it
was expected the appointment of Lord CLARENDON
to the office of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, in the room
of the late Lord BESnOROUGU, would take place.
lost of the Cabinet Ministers were expected to
attend the Privy Council.

Lord BROUGHAM perseveres nobly
in the
dissemination of knowledge among all classes of his
fellow-countrymen. While certain theoretic Philan-
'
thropists are wrangling in provincial town-halls, and
expatiating in provincial newspapers, upon the pro.
priety of different schemes of education, the true and

earnest well-wishers of the multitude are setting their
shoulders to the wheel, are scattering the darkness
of ignorance by kindling the lights of intelligence,
and, actuated by an ennobling ambition, are practi-
cally assisting in the development of the popular
mind. Among these aspirants for a rational millen-
nium—for a millennium when just laws shall have re-
placed blundering enactments, when an elevating
consciousness of good shall shine where a debasing
acquaintance with evil bad formerly glowered, when
virtue shall have become as much the characteristic
of poverty as vice had hitherto been the companion
of destitution—among these generous aspirants
is Lord BROUGHAM. It is no sudden or eccen-
tric movement on the part of the ex-Chancellor ;
it has been the labour of his illustrious life. The
ardour with which the Noble and Learned Lord
strives to promote the tuition of the uninstructed
multitude continues as great now that his intellect is
mellowed in the autumn of his career as it was
under the vernal and freshening influences of his
youth.
Since the first foundation of the establishments
called Ragged Schools we have looked with peculiar
interest upon their extension, and have witnessed,
with a gratification we cannot sufficiently express,
their rapidly enhanced prosperity. For the first
time in the history of the People it was demonstrated
beyond denial that the proffering of knowledge to the
outcast children of the rookeries was not tantamount
to the casting of pearls before swine. Rising up in
the din, the stench, and the squalor of the most
abandoned localities, these little unpretending
seminaries for the regeneration of juvenile repro-
bates have expanded and multiplied with extraordi-
nary quickness. They are already effecting such
manifest improvements in the metropolis, that they
are invested with an air of dignity in spite of their
very lowliness.
Lord BROUGHAM yesterday evening presided at a
public meeting in aid of one of the most conspicuous
among these reformatory institutions—the school in
question being the Lamb and Flag Ragged School,
and the place of meeting being an apartment in Am-
well-street, Pentonville. As the Bishop of NORWICH
very beautifully observed, " one argument was
audible on his entering the rooms, which scattered to
the winds a thousand arguments against ragged
schools—he had heard the children praising GOD with
lips which.would have otherwise blasphemed Him." Re-
membering the peculiar character of his audience, the
Noble Chairman addressed them in that language of
simplicity and earnestness which was best calculated
to penetrate their understandings and to find a facile
entrance into their hearts. And he augured, in con-
clusion, that with the multiplication and enlargement
of these Ragged Schools would result to their patrons
"the sweet satisfaction of benevolence, attended by that
without which benevolence is a barren plant—bene-
ficence ; the doing good as well as the meaning good."
Cordially do we commend this reflection to the mil-
lions who have themselves tasted the nourishment of
instruction ; heartily do we adjure them to weigh the
matter calmly in their minds before they dismiss it
from their consideration. We would remind them
that a more appropriate moment could not well be
selected for the extension of this species of charity—
a charity immeasurably above the gaudy, but grace-
fully intentioned charity of bazaars, and infinitely be-
yond the bounties extended to other eleemosynary
establishments.

Never let it be forgotten that the benefits accruing
from these Ragged Schools are not only immediate,
but that they extend onwards indefinitely into the
future ; that they are not transitory, but permanent ;
that they apply not merely to individuals, but to gene-
rations. Hitherto, in sad truth, the schoolmaster has
been abroad—now he is coming home. He is coming
home not so much:to the hearths of England as to the
byways, and the foul avenues, and the demoralising
dens of England. He is coming home not so much
to the well-clad, and the well-fed, and the well-
looking, as to the dirty, the ill-conditioned, the
famishing, the forsaken, the despised, and the de-
graded. And the advantages which must perforce
result from this novel movement are not merely men-
tal advantages and moral advantages, but social
advantages and physical advantages. The de-
praved children who have hitherto grovelled in
the kennels and imbibed premature draughts
of villany from the very forlornness of their
condition, will, by these Ragged Schools, be
purified alike in disposition and in habits—they will

learn at once the rules of rectitude and the advisab

lily of cleanliness. Among all the schemes which
have been propounded for the popular improvement,
this of the " Ragged Schools " is emphatically the
most generous and the most rational.

Now that the Irish Poor-law has virtually become
the law, it is essentially necessary for the owners
and occupiers of land in that country to exert
themselves zealously in order to provide useful em-
ployment for the able-bodied labourers in every dis-
trict. They can no longer hope to avert an efficient
and permanent measure for the relief of the destitute.
No complaints on their part, or gloomy vaticinations,
can obstruct the progress of the Bill. All cavillings
and objections are fruitless and unavailing. Even
should any alterations hereafter take place in its de-
tails, those changes cannot possibly be introduced for
another year. All parties are now fully apprised of
their liabilities, of the burdens which may be imposed
on them—and for which they must provide. It is
for them to consider whether they will maintain
a moiety of the population in idleness, permitting
them to consume the produce of the soil without
making any return, or afford them less expensive
support in exchange for their labour, which being ex-
pended on the soil will obtain an ample increase, far
exceeding the value of the outlay. No sane man can
hesitate as to the course to be adopted, the line of
conduct to be pursued. Neglect and apathy must be
in the highest degree injurious, if not ruinous, to
the sluggards, while those who avail themselves of
the means within their power, of the proffered as-
sistance which is tendered for their acceptance, will
find not merely safety, but great and lasting advan-
tages. Let all parties throughout the kingdom act
on the advice lately offered by the Landlord and
Tenant Association of the county of Wexford. Let
the ratepayers in every locality co-operate together
in order to provide the necessary employment for the
people. Let every individual fairly perform his part ;
let him not seek to evade the duties for which he is
responsible, to fling the burden from his own shoulders
to these of his neighbours. The ultimate results will
' depend on the spirit with which the measure is re-
ceived and brought into operation, and the precautions
that are taken to obviate the necessity of any, save
the helpless, the Infirm, or the disabled, from having
recourse to its provisions.
The wealthy and unencumbered landowners—those
who can obtain money for the improvement of their
properties at an easy rate—should recollect that the
fund which is to be advanced from the national ex-
chequer is limited in amount, that it was sanctioned
by the Legislature with the avowed object of being
lent to those who without such assistance would
be wholly unable to provide funds for the necessary
improvement of their properties, that every shilling
they may obtain is diverted from its proper destina-
tion. Grave censure has deservedly been passed on
many of the humbler classes, who, although removed
from absolute destitution, put themselves upon the
relief lists, and accepted the aid which was only in-
tended for those who had no other resource. Let not
the example he followed in higher quarters, where it
would be more culpable. Such conduct on the part
of the wealthy and affluent would indeed be wholly
inexcusable, and subject the delinquents to well-
merited reproach. Every application will be duly
registered, and returns will be published setting forth
the amount asked for by the several claimants. We
trust that the loans may be widely diffused, and
in small sums, and that the recipients may be selected
from the small proprietors and those whose estates
are already burdened with heavy:charges and encum-
brances. The Commissioners will have to exercise
considerable caution in their adjudication on the
several claims, and must rigidly reject the applica-
tions of those who should not permit their names to
appear in such a list. Meanwhile, no time should be
lost by the really deserving objects in putting for-
ward their pretensions, and asking for a portion of
that fund which the nation designed for their use,
but which, in the event of undue procrastination,
will be wholly alyAorbed by the earlier, though per-
haps less meritorious, applicants.
NV

. e have more than once eodenvoured to impress
upon the aEtuent °lasses the propriety of limiting the

consumption of bread in their domestic establish-
ments until the supply of corn in the country shall be I
found to have squared itself with the demand, and our
poorer brethren be relieved from the severe privations
to which they are at present subjected. Prudence
and humanity itself combine to recommend the policy
of placing the population upon short commons. Her
MAJESTY, as we had occasion to notice last week, has
set her subjects a becoming example. Not doubting
that many whose benevolence is commensurate with the
wealth they enjoy, have already privately adopted tat
same means of domestic economy in this trying
period, we, nevertheless, regret that men of
rank and influence, and the representatives of
the various public bodies throughout the empire,
have as yet neglected taking some prominent means
for convincing the distressed orders of society of their
liveliest sympathies, and of their voluntary determi-
nation to lighten their afflictions, so far as they can
minister to the same, by an economical distribution
of the staff of life among their immediate dependents.
As an earnest of this truly benevolent spirit, public
assemblies should be convened and appro-
priate resolutions solemnly passed. The moral
effect would not be lost upon the country. It is a
trite observation, that what is everybody's business is
nobody's. There are many things which a single in-
dividual feels ought to be done for the general good,
but refrains from carrying out in practice, under the
belief that as thousands may be indifferent to their
expediencyu
07: personal example
d be
is of o
that re wisdom,
lueacc
oadvantage of public
meetingso
his own
are frequently dis-
covered to be erroneous ; or, if otherwise, it often-
times results, that through the production of sound

nformation, aided by enlightened counsel, a strong

•
impulse is generated in the minds of the auditors, and
united energy cheerfully enlisted in furtherance of
patriotic objects. As a general rule, men do not sign
resolutions without feeling the moral responsibility
of the act. An upright man regards his signature as
an honourable pledge of his sincere participation in the
♦iews of his co-resolutionists. These public assurances
are ofsignificant value; unfortunately, however, they are
seldom given till the last moment. A perilous con-
juncture is too often the only means by which men
are awakened to a sense of their duty. The serious
bread riot which occurred in Exeter last week has
been happily quelled. The chief residents have since
met and considered the condition of the people.
Amongst other public measures that have been
adopted we find the following :

" A paper, pledging the parties signing it to limit the con-
sumption of bread-stuffs in their families to the lowest pos-
sible amount, is lying for signature at the banks and at the
institution. Many influential names are already attached to it.
" A memorial to the corporation of the poor requesting
them to give such relief to parties requiring it as the exi-
gencies of the time demand, has been numerously and in-
fluentially signed. •
"The guardians of the St. Thomas Union, at their weekly
meeting on Friday, authorised the relieving•officers to give
relief accordin7 to their discretion, without regard to the
regulations of the Poor-law Commissioners."
Had these steps been taken a fortnight ago, in all

probability the public peace would not have been
disturbed, whilst the poor would have felt thankful
for such acts of seasonable benevolence. We hope
that this warning in favour of preventive charity will
not be disregarded, and that in every part of the
empire the authorities and influential gentry will be
on the alert to give to the distressed every public
demonstration that their most strenuous efforts will
not be wanting to succour them in the hour of need.

A letter from Bologna of the 9th says that Cardinal
AMAT, the Legate, has just nominated the candidates
among whom the POPE 15 to choose the deputies of
that province. They are six in number, because it is
hoped that Pius IX. will consent to allow two de-
puties to Bologna, which is the largest state of the
Papal dominions. All six are highly esteemed by
the public. The columns of the civic guard, which
were formed at Forli and Cesene to prevent smug-
gling in grain, have spontaneously dissolved them-
selves, thereby complying with the wishes of the
authorities.

In the sitting of the Prussian Diet of the 12th the
Marshal read the replyof the KING relative to the peti-
tion presented by the deputation of the Grand Duchy
of Posen. It is couched in very kind terms, and the
KING, for the first time, speaks of his subjects of
the Polish nation, and promises to comply with such
parts of the petition as may appear to him to be well
founded.

We learn from Stockholm that the King of SWEDEN
has just appointed a commission charged to draw up
a new tariff of customs, in which considerable re-
ductions will be made and many prohibitions be re•
moved.

The young Prince ERNEST, second son of Prince
JOHN of Saxony, died at the palace of Wessenstein
on the 12th, of a disease called morbus maculosus,
which came on after a long attack of influenza.

Madrid journals of the 13th instant have arrived.
The QUEEN'S levee at Aranjuez, in honour of the
birthday of the KING-CONSORT, was numerously at-
tended. The KING-CONSORT himself was absent.
According to the Faro, Queen CHRISTINA has de-
manded explanations of the Government respecting
the misssion of General CoNcuA.

A letter from Barcelona of the 12th, in confirming
the account of the capture of a merchant vessel of the
United States by a small craft under the Mexican
flag, says—
" On the Ist, a small vessel, about 45 tons burthen, belong-
ing to this place, having obtained a Mexican commission to
act as a privateer, hoisted Mexican colours, and brought into
this port an American barque of 280 tons, laden with coffee
belonging to English merchants, having captured her off Ma-
jorca. The circumstance created the greatest interest here.
The authorities took up the matter with spirit, and after due
exarrination they condemned the privateer as a pirate, and
of course the American vessel will be restored to her captain
to pursue his voyage. I learn there are three other craft in
this neighbourhood with similar commissions. The Spanish
authorities behaved very well in the affair. When the war
craft arrived with her prize she had a portion of the Ameri-
can crew on board as prisoners, while a part of her crew was
on board the barque to navigate her in."

Madrid Bourse closed on the 13th, being the fete of
the Ascension.

We have received the Paris papers of Tuesday.
The discussion on the Bill relating to the Royal
Chapter of St. Denis commenced on Monday. This
Bill is likely to meet with serious opposition, and is
stigmatised by the Liberal party as an attempt to
restore the old system of Court chaplains and con-
fessors, and by the Legitimatists as tending to weaken
the power of the hierarchy, by placing the members
of the Royal Chapter beyond the jurisdiction of the
bishops. The division is looked forward to with
anxiety as a test of the present strength of M.
Guizor, as it is believed that on this question the
" Progressive Conservatives " will to a man vote
against him.
Considerable alarm has been excited by discoveries
made in consequence of the seizure of certain papers
belonging to the Marquis DE PASTORET. These
papers, it is said, reveal a series of conspiracies con-
cocted by the Legitimatists for the restoration of the
Due DE BORDEAUX. Several arrests have taken
place, and increased precautions to ensure the personal
safety of the KING and of the Royal Family have
been adopted at Neuilly.
The Committee on the Finances have presented an
amended report, omitting the passage at which M.
LACAVE LAPLAGNR took umbrage, as reflecting on
his administration of the finances. The ex• Minister
has expressed himself as perfectly satisfied.
The Committee of Peers appointed to investigate
the charges of corruption, brought forward by
General CUDIERES, examined on Monday M. TESTR,
who was Minister of Public Works at the time the
alleged corrupt bargain took place.
It is said that General MOLINE DE SAINT-YON, the
ex-Minister, of War, is to be appointed Aid-de-camp
to the KING, and that Admiral MAcKAu, the ex.
Minister of Marine, is to supersede the Prince DE
JOINVILLE in the command of the Meditteranean
squadron.
The Union Monarchique and the National state that
one of the "Officiers d'Ordonnance" of the KING was
discovered cheating at lansquenet, at the Chantilly
races, and ordered to quit the place instantly by the
Dukes DE NEMOURS and D'AUMALE, and that on his
arrival in Paris he received immediate orders to quit
France. That the offender is a person of some cele-
brity is evident, for the National speaks of "the
glorious remembrances attached to the name which he
bears"
PARIS BOURSE, MAY IR.—The Stock Markethas shown
raf her more firmness to-dad and the closing prices nt yes-
terday have b-en well maintained, the htst gnhe market
otatiun of
Threes being 77f. 85c., and of Fives 115 f. 65e. 1
closed as follows :—Three per Cents. for cash, 77f. 75c. ; for
account, 77f. 85c.
; Five per Cents. for cash, 115 f. 45c. ; for

account, 115 f. 65c. ; Bank of France Shares, 3,235 f. ; Nea-
politan, 102 f. 75c.; Spanish Threes, 351/4 ; Ditto, Fives, not
quoted.
RAILWAYS. —The Sharellarket has been dull, and thevaria-
tion of prices through the day but trifling. For and
Orleans last quoted at 1,1t21f: 25e. ; Rouen and Havre, 6321.
50c. ; Avignon, 703 f. 75c.; Strasburg and Basle, 187 f. 50e.;
Montereau, 290 f. ; Northern, 5931. 75c. ; Paris and Lyons,
432 f. 50c.; Bordeaux, 50 f. ; 75c. ; Paris and Strasburg,
4171. 50c. ; Nantes, 405 f.; Lyons and Avignon, 435 f. ; Cetze,
442 f. 50c.

BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE, MAY 19.
Bordeaux, Toulouse, and Cette (Constituted), 2
Northern of France,