The Sun.
London, England, 1851-11-26 00:00:00

LAU:NCH OF A FRIGATE.

The sighAovieg inhabitants of Paris had on Sun-
day opportuaiv of witnes,ing a spectacle such as
the oldest among them had never before seen, and
-which the :youngest may never see again—the launch
of a frigate pierced for 40 guns, within the distance
of a pleasant walk from the centre of the capital. So
great was the curiosity excited that for some hours
before the time announced for the launch every
road leading to the spot was thronged
with vehicles and foot passengers, and seats
in the ordinary conveyances leading there-
to were engaged six deep. Long before the appointed
hour the bridge of Neuilly was one mass of living
heads, nod the opposite side of the river was thronged
with tens of thousands of curious spectators, whilst
scores of pleasure-boats crowded the river. One
o'clock was the hour fixed for the affair to come
off, but the spectators were doomed to have their
patience put to the test, for it was nearly balf.past
four before the vessel touched the liter. Port
u-
nately there were two fine military bands present,th
who beguiled the time, and a large number of
Orpheonists who sung a variety of glees. A few
minutes after four, a bustle at the entrance-gate
announced to the parties in the galleries, among
whom wdre a number of elegantly-dressed women,
the anxiously-expected arrival of the President of the
Republic. He came on horseback, dressed in plain
clothes, and only attended by two grooms. On arriv-
ing, ha was greeted with a unanimous and hearty
shout cf " Vive le President !" " Vive Napoleon !"
which was loudly repeated by everyone in the gal-
leries as he advanced down the yard to the seat pre-
pared fer him. He appeared much gratified by his
reception, and bowed repeatedly as he pissed along.
Previouily to the arrival of the Preident, the clergy
of the punch of Neuilly had gone through the usual
ceremony of benediction, and the moment the Presi-
dent ruched his place, the last operations were pro-
ceeded with. To nautical men, the launch was one
of
more than ordinary curiosity, from an inno-
vation on the usually adopted systems of sending the
vessel into the water stern foremost: The part of
the river, on the banks of which she was built, and
which is the inlet running between the borders of
the park attached to the late royal Château of Neuilly
and the small i land opposite, is very narrow,
s
scarcely wider than the vessel is long, and it
was therefore necessary to adopt the plan of
launching her " broadside on." The principle is the
acme, though doubtless more complicated. Instead of
two " way*" there were seven, whilst greater me-

THE SUN,

chanical means is necessarily required to move the
vessel. That first of all levers, the wedge, however,
soon did the business ; and as soon as the " dog-
shores" were knocked away,
.a few heavy strokes
at the wedges placed at the inner or " shore" end
of the ways quickly set the mass in motion. The
vessel, which bears the name of the Ville de Paris, is
a very pretty craft, and is a perfect model of a 40-
gun frigate minus the keel, and about 5 feet below
the bends, thus giving her a fiat bottom, a plan
of building which was necessary to lessen her
'draught of water. When afloat, however, this deft-
ciency is not visible. Her length on deck is about
1 150 feet, with a breadth of beam of 30 feet. Her
upper deck is
.flush fore and aft, and her height be-
tween decks a little more than six feet. She is
to be lightly rigged as a frigate, and have the neces-
sary number of guns on board for the purpose of
teaching gunnery. When complete, her draft of
water will be about about five and a half feet. This
vessel, which is- built by a joint-stock company, with
the authorisation of the Government, is intended as a
practical and theoretical Preparatory Naval School,
and is under the patronage of M. C. Dupin, Admirals
Dupotet, Halgan, and de Villeneuve, Generals Lauris-
ton and Tartas, and MM. Bouhier, de l'Ecluse, Fremy,
Heckeren. Boys will be herein prepared for merchant
service, and also for the superior naval schools at
Brest, Toulon, &c. The practical part of the educa-
tion of the pupils will be given by the officers and
crew of the frigate, which is composed of men who have
already served in the navy. She will be commanded
by a Lieutenant de Vaissesu. The pupils, in addition
to the necessary instruction to qualify them for
sea, will go through the usual routine of general
education, under proper masters. It is expected
that the school will be opened in the early part
of 1852. This may truly be said to be an age of
wonders. How would our forefathers stare with
astonishment, could they be told that on the 23d of
November, 1851, a 40-gun frigate was launched
almost within sight of the gates of Paris, and that a
whisper of the event being made at the office of the
Minister of the Interior it would be known in Lon-
don almost as soon as the person communicating it
could leave the court-yard of the hotel.

REPRESENTATION OF THE
SCOTTISH UNIVERSITIES.
We notice that a proposal is agitated for giving
representatives in the House of Commons to the
Universities of Scotland. Much might be said in
favour of the measure; and it is held with great
reason that if the schools of Oxford, Cambridge, and
Dublin enjoy the privilege, so ought the kindred in-
stitutions of this country. We would claim for the
case of our universities a full and respectful atten-
tion. But for the ensnaring test imposed on lay
professors, those schools would be next to perfect in
their arrangements. Here the rich and poor meet
together without a shadow of grade or distinction,
and no subscriptions to articles of religion are ex-
tracted from the students, as in the case of the English
colleges. Speaking generally, the expense of educa-
tion is far from being heavy ; and the teachers are
men particularly well qualified for their duties—in
many instances scholars of eminence and of European
fame. This has always been the case, and it is
but justice to say that commonly the patronage
of the chairs in the universities is wisely and advan-
tageously exercised, even where (as in case of the
Edinburgh Town Council) men not scholars them-
selves are patrons. Nor is it a trivial matter in such
a discussion as the present, that though there have
been seats of learning even in Great Britain not re-
garded as favourable to political liberty, the univer-
sities were of old highly popular in their constitution
—in effect, republics, of which the citizens, as we
might say, were scholars, and no more. While rank
in the social state dictated most galling exclusions,
and while the people were too often oppressed by
turns by the monarch or by the nobility, while birth
and station conferred the most dangerous or invidious
prerogatives, the man sprung from the people had one
city of refuge in which talent and scholarship were
held as nobility—where, at least, the mortifying dis-
tinctions prevalent without were in theory laid aside.
Hence some of the most eminent scholars of past ages
were persons of what is called " lowly" origin, of much
the same class as that out of which our own scholars,
divines, and professional men have originally in most
cases sprung. We cannot now sufficiently appreciate
the value of this benign ordination of Providence dur-
ing former ages, when the people in most cases were
the slaves of feudal masters—the serfs, it might be, of
a domineering, tyrannous lord—learning could not be
despised, and it gave honour to its professors. The
consequence and respectability so obtained were gene-
rally on the side of the masses, while, in other cases of
distinction, fame and power were usually attainable
but by a caste proud, haughty, and exclusive. Nor
in the more noted seats of learning was the scholar
a mere student, having no connexion with his school
but as a learner. The republican form of govern-
ment already adverted to had conferred large
powers and privileges on all connected with those
institutions—a relic of which we fancy we detect
in the popular election of the Lord Rector of the
University of Gla:gow. During the dark ages, too,
commerce came to the aid of science. Enlightened
activity, engaged in traffic with distant nations, gave
importance to the merchant, often a patron of learn-
ing. And it thus happens that in the ancient univer-
sities, and in the chartered towns and seaports of
Europe, we find the fairest and most matured deve-
lopment of public liberty and the real rights of man.
We are desirous to make these observations as we
could wish to find the people well affected towards
our great schools, and taking an interest in their
welfare. We believe, however, that a very good
feeling exists in Scotland towards the academic insti-
tutions of the land. And how could it be otherwise,
when in those schools young men out of every con-
ventional rank are educated,and impelled to seek after
excellence, not, however, unattainable or unknown
elsewhere ? We have known a working man of the
better class contrive to send two sons to the univer-
sity, one of whom is at present a distinguished aca-
demic, and holds a professor's chair. Such is the
honourable pride of Scotsmen—such reputation and
status may be obtained by a youth apparently born to
poverty.
But to revert to the representation of the Scottish
Universities, we could wish to find it largely discussed
by the press and country. Many may consider that
if there is to he a knowledge qualification of some
kind instituted, then all learned men of every school
or of suitable qualifications, however attained, might
have the franchise. And there is something in this.
It may, however, be contended that apart from the
universities being the most determinate form in which
the learning of the country appears, and apart from
their comprehending as alumni by far the larger por-
tion of the scholars of the country, the stable position
and high standing of those great schools would justify
the bestowal of the franchise, leaving knowledge and
scholarship otherwise to be provided for as a general
arrangement, if indeed the educated class are to have
the franchise without proprietary qualification. All
this should be pondered carefully ; and it may be
assumed that Ministers are ready to give due respect
t 3 opinions shared in by a large and respectable por-
tion of the people. It cannot be said that Scotland
has had its proper quota of representatives, and in
some such way we might come to have a larger in-
fluence in the House of Commons and over the Go-
vernment than is the case at present.—Greenock
Advertiser.