The Sun.
London, England, 1870-02-11 00:00:00

THE EDUCATION OF THE BLIND.

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On Thursday a deputation, which represented
twenty institutions for the benefit of the blind in Eng-
land, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, waited on Earl de
Grey and Ripon. Lord President of the Privy Council,
to present him with a memorial, which set forth:--
That though there are at present no fewer than 30,000
blind in the kingdom, and while the 'sighted children of
the poor are to a great extent supplied with primary
education at the expense of the State, no governmental
aid whatever is afforded to the blind children of. the poor.
The assistance rendered to blind children by various Insti-
tutions, supported by the contributions of the benevolent,.
is altogether inadequate to meet the necessities of the
case. If the same Governmental aid were given to schools
for the education of blind children as is now afforded to
ordinary National and other schools it would sup-
plement the efforts of the charitable, and greatly
conduce to the proper education of blind children.
The various Blind Schools, while being left free to adopt
any improvement in apparatus and management which
might appear desirable, should still be under the inspec-
tion of a special officer, appointed by the State for the
purpose. The attainment of the means of livelihood,
being in the case of the blind attended with extra-
ordinary difficulties, your memorialists humbly
pray that the pecuniary benefits accorded to
educational institutions may also be extended to esta-
blishments for industrial training. As an unusually large
proportion of the blind are above the age of 21 years, the
advantage of national aid should be extended to adult
educational and industrial schools. Seeing that those institu-
tions which afford regular employment to blind workpeople
thereby to a great extent relieve the streets from vagrants,
prevent the increase of the criminal classes, and keep the
blind people, their wives and children from being burdens
on the parochial rates, it is therefore humbly prayed that
the shield of Governmental protection may be cast over
such institutions, and that they may be furnished with
similar pecuniary aid as is given to ordinary reformatories,
and other similar establishments."
Lord Houghton introduced the deputation, and amongst
& large number of gentlemen present were Mr. M‘Laren,
M.P., the Dean of Chichester, Mr. Beresford Hope, M.P.,
Mr. H. Woods, M.P., Mr. W. T. Mitford. Sir J.
Hamilton, Bart., Admiral Ryder, Admiral Southeby,
General J. Graham, Mr. W. D. Murphy, M.P. Mr.
Maguire, M.P., Earl Manvers, Mr. Wheelhouse, 111. P.,
Lieutenant Colonel Macdonald, Sir. J. Anson, Bart., Mr.
Hermon, M.P., Lieutenant Colonel Gray, M.P. Several
of thole mentioned addressed his Lordship in support of
the memorial, and pointed out that if the Government
would help as prayed they would confer a very great
blessing upon those who are unhappily deprived of

sight.
The LORD PRESIDENT asked a variety of questions as
to the education which was may afforded to the blind, and
the facilities or difficulties which were experienced in
teaching. Mr. M`Laren gavo some interesting particulars
of the working of such institutions in Scotland.
Earl DE GREY and RIPON, in replying to the memorial
and the observations which had been addressed to him,
assured the deputation that the representations which
they had made should have his most careful con-
sideration, as he was sure they would that of his
' colleagues. It was needless for him to point
out that there were many things connected
with these Institutions, on behalf of which they appealed,
well placed. Theirs is a totally different category from
the elementary schools, which it was tue object of the
parliamentary grant administe red by this department to
aid. Their representations required the most
serious consideration, as they involved questions
which affected other institutions—for instance,
those of the deaf and dumb, had been sanctioned
by some of the speakers, and which might also put in a
claim on like grounds. He need not tell them that their
object had the utmost sympathy from himself and Mr.
Forster (who was present), and that, as he had stated,
the memorial should be most carefully considered,.

—_•_=--_----
NEW
CONVOCATITHON AND
TESTAMENTTHE REVISION OF
E . •
In Convocation of the Southern Province on Thursday
the bishops' meeting at 'Westminster discussed the very
important subject of the revision of the New Testament.
The Bishop of Winchester suggested a motion, strongly,
it
rrecommending revision. In ()Ur present version,
he said, there' re many inaccuracies viewed in the l
light of the a lligence of the present day. Many
persons who were not well versed in the matter exagge-
rated the importance of those difficulties which avowedly
existed, and the duty of the Church as the teacher of the
' people was to see what was the real and true Word of
God. Mere grammatical inaccuracies he would not deal
with. He had the authority of the Archbishop of York
to say that the Northern Province would act with the
Southern Province in the matter, and the whole subject,
after leaving the hands of Convocation, might be revised
by a Royal Commission. He moved the appointment of
a joint committee of the houses of Canterbury to consult
with the Northern Province on the subject. The Bishop
of Gloucester and Bristol seconded the resolution, and
remarked that the volume Baron Tauchnitz had recently
given to the world had greatly ' stimulated the need for
such an expurgation or alteration as was now sug-
gested. He had had strong scruples against thinking
about errors in our noble version of the Scriptures, but he
had at length overcome those difficulties. He referred to
the absence in the Alexandrian MS. of the early part of St.
Matthew's Gospel, and in the Vatican M.S. of the B 1 istle
to the Hebrews, and some of the pastoral epistles, as well
as the Apocalypse, but in this new volume now given to
the world these difficulties had been removed. He thought
a revision might be made without any danger to any doc-
trine, and without exciting any exaggerated fears. He
had had the honour of having a conversation with the cele-
brated critic Dr. Tregelles, ho had told him that in any
critical inquiry into the Sinatic and other MSS. great care
must be taken, inasmuch as those MSS. varied in their
value at different times. The right rev. prelate gave some
startling statements in reference to various readings
of the New Testament, and said that although he did not
wish to exaggerate their number, their importance was
of the utmost moment in the present age of inquiry.
The question thus raised led to a very animated dis-
cussion. In the end a resolution was carried approving
, a revision of both Old and New Testament.
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. _
TIIE LOWER, HOUSE AND EDUCATION.
The Lower House of Convocation discussed the subject
of education on Thursday. Canon Hopkins moved a reso-
lution pointing out that notwithstanding all efforts made
children still grew up without education, and it
was necessary to change this; the system of
education hitherto adopted by the sanction of
Parlianicnt commonly known as " denominational,"
should still, in the main, be continued as against the
system commonly known as " unsectarian" or "secular."
Existing schools might, in many cases, be employed or
adapted so as to provide a sufficient education for all
children near them; if the principle could be recognised
of perfect liberty of distinctive religious teaching com-
bined with perfect liberty of declining it. A. cordial
understanding between the Goverement and the represen-
tatives of the National Church is most desirable. The
will
House therefore pray that the Upper House
be pleased to take this subject into their consideration,
and adopt such method as to their lordships may seem
best to give expression to the unabated zeal and diligence
of the clergy in this matter of education. The conscience
clause, the rev. canon pointed out, was recognised in his
motion. It was seconded by Canon Seymour, but opposed
in the matter of the conscience clause, by Canon Gregory
and Archdeacon Denison. The former told a story as
illustrating his argument against the motion. "Some years
ago, the incumbent of a parish in Wales asked for the
assistance of the Government to build a school for 200 chil-
i dren. At first the Committee of Council informed him that he
must accept a conscience clause. He at once agreed to
do so; but after a time the committee wrote to him to
say that as they understood there was a strong Dissenting
interest in the parish they could not aid a school of such
a size. They would, therefore, grant aid only for
a school for 100 children, leaving room for a
Dissenting school. What followed? The clergyman's
school was built, and in it were to be found the children
of all the leading Dissenters in whose interest the clergy-
man's scheme had been thus cut down." After a great
deal of warm discussion, Archdeacon Denison suggested
that the present motion being withdrawn, a committee
should bo appointed to consider the question when the
Government had explained their intentions. Canon
Hopkins, with the concurrence of Canon Seymour, then
withdrew his motion, and it was resolved that a com-
mittee should be appointed, in accordance with the sug-
gestion of Archdeacon Denison

A. telegram from Castlebar, Ireland, says that the
cattle of several gentlemen in that district have been
maliciously maimed within the last few nights. There
has been no arrest.
CHANNING'S WORKS.—We learn, says the Pall
Mall Gazette, that within a few weeks nearly 14,000
copies of a cheap edition of Channing's works have been
subscribed for—a remarkable testimony to the popularity
of his productions, sermol4 though they bo for the most
part, considering that the author has been dead for a
quarter of a century.
CEYLON LEAENING.—AII official report by the
Government Inspector of Schools in Ceylon contains some
amusing examples of the learning (or ignorance) of the
rising generation; for instance, one young man gravely
says that " Milton was a poet who lived in the present
century, and who has been very much esteemed by many
people for being an excellent poet ;" another, in answer to
a question about Lord Bacon, says, " Before Bacon the
people of England were not so well acquainted with the
subject (what subject he does not tell us), because this was
the first person who taught people how to do it (what,
again, he does not tell us) ;" a third shews a specimen of
ignoratio elenchi and bad gramme; too, by gravely
asserting that " the changes of monsoons and weather has
(sic) recently taken place in the territorial extent of the
Austrian Empire." But perhaps the most amusing blunder
of all is to be found in the following explanation of the
historical allusion in a well-known poem of Tennyson,
where the " oak" is spoken of
" Wherein the younger Charles abode,
Till all the paths were dim,
And far below the Roundhead rode,
And hummed a surly hymn."
This allusion refers to Milton. He was honoured by Eng •
land and was dear to England as an oak tree was. He is
said to have lived in the reign of young Charles, in an age
when literature had not flourished much. He is said to
have sung hymns in the Road to Roundhead!
The first report of the British Indian Extension
Telegraph Company (Limited) has been issued.
It states that the order for the cable has been given
to the Telegraph Construction Company ; that
the sum of £40,000 has been paid to them, in ac-
cordance with the contract; and that there is
every reason to believe the manufacture of the
cable will be completed within the contract time.
Lieut.-Colonel Glover, R.E., late Director Gene-
ral of Telegraphs in India, has been appointed
managing director—an office which he also holds
in the China Submarine Telegraph Company—and
has been deputed to visit Ceylon and the Straits
Settlements for the purpose of making ar-
rangements for the immediate commencement of
work as soon as the cable may be successfully
laid.

'I he failure is reported of Messrs. Goodbellere,
Gaine, and Co., Birmingham. Their liabidties are
estimated at between £20,000 and £25,000.
It is stated that Lord Newry has been appointed
chairman of the board of the Great Britain Life
Unice.