The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-12 00:00:00

LORD ROBERT CECIL, A( P., ON NATIONAL
EDUCATION.

STAMFORD, Nov. 7.
Last night our borough member, Lord R. Cecil, addressed
a large audience in the lecture-room of the Mechanics' Insti-
tution in this town on the subject of "National Educa-
tion." His Lordship commenced as follows :—I cannot
flatter myself that the subject which I am now about to
submit to your consideration is a now one; but then I can
console myself with the reflection that no subject that I
could have selected would be new nowadays. This subject
of national education is at least a practical one; it is one
in which many who hear me are probably personally in-
terested ; it is one that within the last few years has at-
tracted more attention and has excited more political dis-
cussion than any other of purely domestic interest. Its
history is indeed brief. It is almost entirely confined to
a description of the educational controversy in the middle
of which we now find ourselves. But its importance
to all of us is enough to give it an interest. In an
ago when national greatness depends not on numbers
or on territory, but on intelligence, the development
of intelligence is a duty the neglect of which will
hazard our national position. In a day when thought, not
force, is the ruler of mankind, and when iu domestic govern-
ment numbers are more powerful than wealth, it is of the
most vital importance to the stability of our institutions
that that thought should be sound and those numbers en-
lightened. But before I proceed I must apologise for the
misuse of words. When I talk of the education of the
people I am free to confess that I do not mean what I say.
What I really mean is the instructionof the people. Though
it seems a paradox to say so, schools and schoolmasters have
really very little to do with the education of the young.
To educate the young is really not so much to cultivate
their intellects as it is to train their hearts, to mould their
habits of feeling and of action in accordance with the pre-
cepts of religion. The culture of the memory and the red
son, which is the work of the schoolmaster, is not educa-
tion ; it is mere instruction. And yet I must continue to
call it education, iu spite of this apology ; foe the habit
of thus misusing the word has become so inveterate with
speakers and writers—it boasts such high official sanction
-it has so einbe Idea itself into all our habits of thought,
that I should only be making myself unintelligible if I
affected a more accurate phraseology. Yet, I cannot but
think the distinction involves more than a question of
more verbal correctness ; it seems to me productive of most
serious evil. It loads us to expect at the hands of our
schoolmasters results which they cannot possibly produce,
end to which they can only very partially contribute ; and
then we decry, and perhaps abandon, our system, because
it does not answer our unreasonable expectations. We
call our school inetruction education, and then we expect
from it that moral training and moral reuovation which
only the real education can supply. But real education
cannot be done on the school bench, under terror of the
school caue, by help of school bedlee and black board
If dose at all, it must be done elsewhere than at
school. It must be the result of the influence which
breathe mound the daily life in a well-ordered home ;
of a mother's affec.donate care and tender vigilance ; of
holy lessons instilled and fostered under the genial warmth
of that soft religious sympathy which speaks, not in cate-
chisms, but from heart to heart; of that which teaches
more than words can teach—the daily example of a parent's
virtuous life. So far as these exist the child will have a
real education, If this were general, we should indeed
effect what we seek in vain from our school instruction—
the extirpation of profligacy and crime. But how should
we look for such results from the exercise of the school-
master's craft ? In his own sphere he can inculcate that
intellectual knowledge of Christian truth which must be
the basis of a hearty, living faith. He can dispel many a
mist of prejudice and error which in other times—aye, and
even in our own—has led men into foolish, suicidal crimes,
such as riotous strikes in the manufacturing and machine
burning in the rural districts. And ho can awaken a taste
for that intellectual amusement which is the best defence
against idleness, and, therefore, against vice, of which
idleness is generally the forerunner. But, what right
have we to expect of him that he should mould the
habits or convert the heart ? What opportunities do we
give him, what instruments do we put into his hands to fit
him for so high and arduous a work? Ile sees a child five
hours a day during five days in the week. He saes him
not alone, but in a class. Of the personal intercourse from
whichaloue practical influence springs ttiVe74017,5101,74
He speaks to him possibly a dozen times in the coil Worths
day, and his sole intercourse consists in dinning into his
memory certain secular or religious lessons. But morality,
contentment, temperance, piety, are not lessons that can be
learnt by the heart. Undoubtedly, learning is a preparation
for these virtues and a support to them when they are ac-
quired; but of itself it is utterly powerless to influence the
conduct. If therefore, in the strenuous efforts we are mak-
ing, and are bound to make, to promote the spread of know-
ledge among the people, we imagine we have discovered a
panacea fur making them good citizens and good Christians
we shall find ourselves grievously mistaken. I believe that
if we are to raise the social condition of those classes with
whose degradation our country is so ceustaertly taunted,
the secret is in the elevation of their homes. It, instead of
the squalid misery by which au English labouring man is
so often repelled from his home and almost driven to the
put-house, we would substitute cheerfulness and comfort,
more would be done to make him temperate and contented
than by the best school instruction that could be given. Da
not Lt me be understood for a moment to deny that intel-
lectual enlightenment will be a valuable agent iu social ele-
vation. On the benefits of religious knowledge it is needless
to descant; and secular knowledge, by the tastes with
which it preoccupiesthemind, will'ue a streng, counterpoise
to the attraction of the public house, while ie enlists the
motives of anenlightened selhehuess on this side of iudustry
and frugality. That knowledge will help much to purify all
on whom it shines Ido not dispute. But in the present
tone of public opinion there seems to nia a danger of think-
ing it will do all, and I fear that this deluAou has been Lot
a little fostered by the pracdee oh giving to school teach
ing the name of education. However, as I have s dd, since
the world is pleased to call it so, I must submit, for the
sake 01 clearness, to do the same. The noble lord then
sketched the history of education iu this country. It,
scarcely dates, he said, beyond the pretent century. The
Sunday schools, indeed, reach back as far as 1762. But
there was no organised system of daily popular education
till the National SoCiety and the British and Foreign School
So
d iscitientcytiwone re
betweenf or m e dt
the
the
et
two
societies beginning
being o t he f
that i century,a
one
the

groat societies for
was purely. Ch. i teaching
These two The have
' blical instruction.
rapidly in strength. y
a.
) simply biblical
have been growing .
to the necessity of educa-
tion; .
40 years
of the country
benevolence of
roused the feeling
channel for the
did
the
tion ; they have been the.
isork, n the other, it was
So rapidly did they
zeal of the religious
' thousands.
the
liberality of the people and
Church teaching —in
that the number of scholars
1818
bodies respond to their call,
d between the years
and Wales increase
nearly double.
in England
to 1 276,000, or
of
and 1833 from 674,000,
attract the attention
In 1833 the subject began to
a direct
promptly
efforts ; though, hap-
interest in fostering these benevolent,s
function
was
to assist,
pity, it was felt, too, thatthe State
a series of Parlia-
mentary to manage education. Accordingly,
. conjunction
with
the Government. It was felt that the State had
number of
has made a num .
the two societies the Privy Council
11 -es for the train-
judicious regulations, has maintaineductoed
eBa
machinery of
mentary grants were commenced, and in
ing of schoolmasters, and has instituted
of its
to education in this country. The numerical
proof
the years
success may be found in the census.
Between
30,0J0 to
inspection by which an enormous stimulus has been
1633 and Issl the schools have increased from
0_
16,000, and the scholars from 1,200,00 J to upwardscio
of
2,b00,D0j. Whereas in 1833 there was, on the wa
in
the population, one person out of every Ili at school,a_ili
1851 there was one out of every 8 1-3 d; and I way a"
given
incidentally that so strongly had public feeling been en-
listed in the cause of education that Sunday schools had
increased ins Still
greater
was at proportion. One in every 7
a Stinday school. With respect to the
education encouraged by the Privy Council, I believe it is
generally admitted that, as a rule, inspected schools always
stand higher in point of efficiency than any others around
them. Strong in these results, the system has rapidly
quality of the
gained favour both with the Legislature and the Pl"'
The public approbation is shown by the ilidtdasiq ntinaa
her of schools which submit to the inspection, of which at
first there was so much jealousy ; and the Legislature has
an annual vote, which has risen gradually from 10,
displayed its confidence by the more substantial token of
430,000/. But in a day when unanimity is so rate its to be
esteemed rather as a sign of torpor than of life it would be
unnatural if there were not considerable exception to be
made to this general confidence. A.ccordingly, we find that
00)1. to
several classes of theorists, some of them objecting from re-
ligious scruples, some of them bitten With German or Ame-
rican fancies, express their disapproval in no meeeured
terms; and their indignation is not diminished by the fact
that the Legislature has recehtly declined to listen to their
coinplaints. After briefly a Iverting en, pTuant, to
the importance of the self-instruetion furnished by mecha-
nics' institutes, rural libraries, and other kindred institu-
tions, his lordship returned to the educational controversy
and to the attacks that are made upon the Privy Council
system. Its assailants he divided into two classes —those
who think it has done too little and those who think it
has done too much. Those who think it has done too uch
are the advocates of the pure voluntary system Theo her
cq:.,nts of the existing systs-,1 v:::0 pi' '.,
11,e,
,
on Pad II- ,ts i4thent—bantely, th atoetes a
rat
have nothing in common withd thes. et
support schoolders of volun-
tarYism. On the contrary, their proposal arises from the
conviction that ,state aid is not carried far enough!
They

are not satisfied with the present system. They see, they
cannot but see, that education has increased with strange
and unexampled rapidity under the protection of the
Privy Council system. The force which propelled it ex-
ists still; the limits of its progress have not been reached.
If the rate of its increase be maintained it will
probably before the next , census carobs have pro-
vided for all who are now destitute of the means of P duca-
tion. But this is not enough for the theorists of whom I
speak. They will be satisfied with no success that is not
immediate. They tell us that swe have '2,0 0,000 out of
1,003,000 children uneducated, and they tan us with the
comparison of what has been done for education in New
o one s
England, in Switzerland, and is Prussia, in each of which
tpopulation is al school,
whileote
we s
about
haveu t
enly i n e
n ix of
e in he
Now, with reference to
the first charge, my- answer is that it is not true. Tin •
doubtedly there are still a fearful number of children who
ought to be at school and are not. But that there are two
millions of children who are not and never have been at
school is not true. The figures in the census on which this
assertion is founded prove nothing of the kind. They only
indicate that there were 2,000,00) children between 5 and
15 who on the census day were net at school. A child may
have been at school from 5 to 14, and be a very well edu-
cated child ; but if during his*lsth year the Registrar-
General comes and finds that he has left the school down he
goes among the 2,000,000 children whose uneducated con-
dition is a disgrace to the civilisation and Christianity of
England. Well, then, they hold up America sticad the con•
tinent as our models, and tauntingly show us tr lrger
proportion of children who in those countries receive the
blessings of education. Now the returns on which the
alleged superiority of Americais founded have been shown
by minute calculations to be far too untrustworthy to be
the groundwork of any comparison whatever. As to the
continental states the case is simply this : —ln England we
do not interfere with a parent's right to deal with his chil-
dren as he thinks proper; abroad the children are driven
to school by' the police. Naturally enough, therefore, their
schools fill better than ours. I will now invite your atten-
tion to the specific proposals with which the advocates of
a school rate, diseontented with the present state of things,
urge us to supersede it. The Privy Council has always
rigorously adhered to the rule of dispensing its funds
without favour, simply in proportion *to the efforts in b -
half Of education which the applicant in each case should
have made. Those who have made great exertions re-
ceive large aid ; those who have done little are helped
little. Now, the three p tales who advocate a school rate,
beaded by Sir J. Pakington, Lord J. Russell, and Mr. M.
Gibson respectively, complain, and with some truth that
this rule entirely overlooks poor districts where people
can't help themselves, and stingy districts where they will
not ; and therefore they say, `,` A.b m ion your present sys-
tem of only meeting private coirtrilretioes by proportional
.;rants of your own. Come forwar las the e lucetors of the
nation. Wherever a school languishes, raise it to efficiency
by your grants; wherever there is no seheol build one ;
an' do this irrespeetive of the private contributions you
way receive." And, in order thoroughly to superintend
thoonormeus taxation and theenormoue expenditure which
su h a scheme weal bring about, they propose that the
money should be raised by local rates and expert led bylocal
committees. Now, Ido not deny that the evil of which
they complain exists ; but I certainly do not believe that it
is so serious, or at all events so permanent, as it has been
represented to be. In some few cases urkdonbtedly there
are places absolutely tee poor to support a school. In far
more Cases the apathy of the proprietors and inhabitants
prevents a school being set up. The latter will yield to
time, to the growth of enlightenment, to the deepening
conviction which is now spreading through all classes, that
alike for happiness and for order, for the material great-
ness of the nation, and for the moral elevation of the indi-
vidual, it is indispensable that ignorance should be driven,
in town and country alike, from the cottages of the poor.
And the difficulty arising from the utter poverty of some
districts may be met by special regulations wherever it is
ascertained to exist. Be this as it may, these evils, what-
ever their intensity, are as nothing compared with the con-
fusion and the utter peril alike to religion and education
which an abandonment of the Privy Council rates would
involve. To desert that system is at once to bring our-
selves face to face with the religious difficulty—the great
legislative problem of our day. As long as you only give to
people in proportion as they help themselves un no
danger of seeming Alb prefer one denomination to another.
You follow a rigid, unbending rule, whose equity no one
! •carrtlT;;Trerrnad whose appliOation No cfne Mn mistake. The
State does nofereate, the State does net.znanage a single
school but it aids every one, whatever its ores4i.inx,repo
x.
.tion to the zeal which its'promoters eviffezace kji, their con-
tributions. But the moment'if deserts this sati ground and
proceeds to build schools, or to become the managers of
schools, the insoluble question at once arises —to what sect
shall those schools belong, and what form of religion shall
they teach? Here it is that Sir J. Pakington, Lord J. Rus-
sell, and Mr. M. Gibson split off from each other. They
are unanimous on the other points we have gone through
—in opposing the Voluntaries, in decrying the Privy Coun-
cil sptese, in their advocacy of local school rates and school
committees, but on the question of religion they cannot
agree; and it is their irreconcileable differences on this
point which will probably for a long time prevent the Le-
gislature from listening to their schemes. Sir J. Pakington
proposes to meet the diffieulty by giving to the ratepayers
themselves the right to decide by a majority the religion to
which any new school built from public funds shell belong.
Lord J. Russell, who is frightened by the example of the
many American schools which have glided from liberality
into irreligion, thinks to secure Christianity by simply in-
sisting that a certain amount of Scripture shall be daily read,
and leaves the rest to the ratepalers to settle. And Mr. M.
Gibson cuts the knot by excluding religion altogether. Re-
garding Lord J. Russell's and Sir J. Pakington's solution of
the religious difficulty as practically the same, the noble
speaker argued at some length against the advisability of
leaving it to the ratepayers to choose the religion by the
vote of a majority, remarking upon the unseemly contention
which was sure to ensue, and expressing his belief that
if Sir J. Pakington's measure weni to 'pus it would
cause more irreligion and more derneralisetioa by tenfold
than all the ignorance which it wee intended to remove;
and he believe I that at lest religions men of all artiee in
very de,peir would unite in a resolution to exclude this
bone of discord—religious teaching alt rgether ; and so this
compromise would sink down into becoming that very seen,
lar system which it was intended to avert. Noticing, IleXr,,
the arguments of the secularists, as enunciate I by Messrs.
Bright, Cobden, and Milner Gibson, the noble lord sai 1 he
was bound to admit this much, that if the theorists who cry
out against the present admirable system should succeed in
overthrowing it, sooner than accept any of the pernicious
compromises' proposed by Sir J. Pakingtoa and Lord J.
Russell —sooner than surrender for the Church of England
the right of teaching her own creel, unmutilated and pure,
wherever she teaches at all, he for one would vote for the
secular system. He, however, must not be understood by
this to say that he approved it, but only that it seemed to
him less dangerous than a system of compromise. The evil
of it lay in the fact that a real, pare, secular system, which
should confine itself to theinculcationof secular knowledge,
was an impossibility. If it did not teach religion it would
teach infidelity. After dwelling upon and illustrating this
point the noble lord concluded thus :—This is no question
of speculation or theory. It is a practical one, which con-
cerns all who have money to give or influence to exert.
The present system, and with it the question whether reli-
ognioonmsthes areallb roeutuamugohtusi,and
in our schools,
clamorousis nert
eo f allnitsprtreiaple.r
proportion
to their number. For along time they have held the language
thhigeyoths,avwehoov
even
on
thhreoaarttowneedreusinwdiitfh.
las
oinf tohf ety, and they l
bodayTh
yo alone,
have
pt
rr
oe
as
te
on
dt edt
ht
ohi or torpupe3
opouobtlsi c
aosp i-
a
to oppose their views. A recent decision of the House of
tyketnithterdooufwcaanotfitoicinthaeatnCeddhurch establishment if we continue
thefmereer
overthrow
Commons has caused them to abate their tone. That as-
sembly not ordinarily a very bigoted body on questions
of religion—being called on by Lord John Russell to con-
sider some resolutions which embodied the views of the
theorists who drew their educational inspirations from
Germany, refused contemptuously, by a majority of 102,
even to look at them. Since this vote it has become
pretty gliparent that for tome few years, probably mats) the
next census, the existing system will not be interfered with.
for
Now, therefore, those who support it are on their trial
before the country. If it fail now it will fail for ever; if
es-
tablishedus
i it
u exertion.ceea isTi nhooeuwr re' sarcrehel s Now,or
i n the historye es
acl
lut
therefore,
ewrifllorbee,
is tneimpregnably
time
of States and of
systems when the destiny of generations seems crowded
into a few short months or years ; when the choice of
exertion
;when neglect
the is
a
o i c o
made can
liberalitynev er be
ror
cloth, o
h,ththe niggardliness of a few men during a short period are
pregnant with the weal or woe of generations and centuries
to conic. Such a crisis with respect to education is the
elle o r
energyct; thattho
present, On the zeal during the next four years of all
' education throughout the land—on
who are coneeril°l
is or d
• '-estv and laity in each indivi-
dual ariah
of work
e for the heartiness with which
to be a primary element in the instruction or ..4118 young
My sill
firm belief is that the existing system will come .
settlement the
stigenrea wthceat ehsee; d
rnligion epen the
is finalt
tri-
umphantly out of the trial; that it will be shown by the
unanswerable evidence of practical success that voluntary
benevolence, aided but not fettered by the State, is the beat
engine for giving to the masses that instruction which will
not only prepare them by secular teaching to fight their
way through life, bet will give their, th?.t hotter know-
ledge which wdl Sit timer for parformLng 4. Christian's
duties and gaining a Christian's hop( is. (The noble lord
was frequently applauded, and clo& his address amid
t he acclamations of the womb!

A large meeting of the electors of the borough of
Southwark was held last night at the Literary Institu-
tion, Borough-road. to hear from their members, Mr. A.
Pellatt and Sir C. Napier, an account of their Conduct
in Parliament during the last seszion. Mr. John Vicars
occupied the chair.
Mr. PELIJATT first addressed the meeting. He was
glad to be able to congratulate his constituents on thr
cessation of war and on the prosperity which bad ace rrn-
panied the return of peace. He had recently returned
from a tour in the manufacturing di-tricte, and he was
glad,to find that work was abundant there, wages liberal,
and that capital was fairly remunerated. He would con-
gratulate the country, too, on the state of our foreign
alliances. The French alliance was a new fact in Eng-
lish history, but we were such close neighbours, and the
two nations had so much to learn tram each other, that
it was to be hoped their alliance would be perpetual.
With America our relations were now most satisfactory.
With the internal relations of the United states we had
nothing to do, nor had we any right to interfere in the
settlement of the important questions which are now
agitating tbe.commnnity there ;but we were so united in
blood, in interests, and in associations that a quarrel be-
tween us would be one of the greatest calamities which
could occur. Turkey was not naturally such a chose ally
to us as America or Fiance, but we had, taken up her
cause from a desire to protect her from oppression, and if
a proper policy were pursued she might still become a
aseful member of the body of European nations. It was
to be hoped that everything would be done to reform
her internal administration, otherwise there was no
doubt but that she contained within herself elements
which must lead to her ultimate decay. airing the
last session there had been 120 public and 139 private
acts passed in Parliament, hut none of them excited very
great interest, except, perhaps, the Bishops' Bill and
the Vice-President of the C runcil of Education &In Sir
W. Clay's bill for the Abolition of Church Rates passed
its second reading by 221 to 1 78, but it was not pressed.
11r. Berkeley's. annual motion on the ballot hail had his
support, but it had met its usual fate. The great
novelty o the session was Mr. Dieraeli's sp-ech at tie
end of it, in wire he maintained that all the use ul
measures whicsO had been hissed by the G )1/eminent
were to he attributed to Conservative principles. (A.
laugh.) One of the most important measures of the
session was the Police Bill, which the Government suc-
ceeded in passing after considerable discussion. "Com-
ing events," it was said, "cart their shadows before,"
and the event of the session showed that the Irish
Church was shaking to its fen:elation, and that the day
was not far distant 'when it would cease to exist. Nut
later ago than the 16th o: Oct. the rinics had written as
follows :--
"But there can be no doubt that voluetarviern is '
waat we have adopted as a pr.ue,ple. Leis it rule
which we have adepts l as an empire. Wn-,,r..r 'or
coloinal eamire e,prs'ad4 • oluti,,ary rir.nu:pie wiJl go
w,t.ti it. is part zati paie?.i of Gig leperier p ,aes,
'No ata'e I,IA to Ateh.% eve:y wh
eXeept
ALCI there oeuai he no ,; eibt the I-Arica*, of a I).4iiiiary-
i.ot 11. to;lgion a.,4 v ..S e,N,
gre :ter hold on the puh ;:itrl. During the sit
no less than 94,000,0001 barn drasti fiddi th
pockets of the people elteer ie leans or taxi-qv-al, :stet yet
to all app, aran,tes our r.-4 .ureed were noz,
slightest degree. Tare was every reacc.n, trieretore, ee
c regratul ate the country en the ineuner iu which i. ha 1
passed through the war. Private members, it was sod,
had been much more fortunate in legislation than the
Government l :et session. He himself had had the satis-
faction ot.passing three bills. Tito first was in relation
to the law of crossed checks. Owing to a decis on of o •u
of the ju Iges consiaerable confusion had been creased in
the commercial world as to what was really the raw oil
this subject, and he had accordingly introduced and
passed a bill which laid down the rule that no crossed
cheque should be payatee except through an account.
He had also passed a bill regulating the registration of
marriages. This was at first Intended to app y only to
Dissenters' marriages, but in the course of its progress
he had bsen obliged to extend it to all marriages, and he
had the satisfaction of thinking that it had tended very
considerably to improve the law on this subject. An-
other question which he had taken up was the Smoke
Act. A bill came down from the Lords abolishing the
exemptions contained in that act, and haviisg at Lord
Palmerston's request taken charge of that bill in the
Lower House, he had been successful enough to pass it
through that house with the addition of amendments
which greatly increased its scope. He bad also voted in
favour of Mr. Gibson's Oath of Abjuration Bill, of Lord
Goderich's motion for the examination of candidates for
the civil services, and for, Mr. Spoonerhi motion against
the Maynooth grant. The Limited Liability B:11 had
had hie cordialsuppera
,and it would be found, he be-
'tiered, too work ad vesitegepusly for the commercial coin-
manlty. The foreign policy of the country was at the
present moment of great importance. Non-interference,
he believed, to be the proper policy of this country.
We ought not to interfere to force constitutions on na-
tions not fitted for them, nor on the other hand ought
we to interfere to support foreign despots on their
thrones against the will of their subjects. Among the
social reforms they needed was a map registration of all
estates, to be kept by a Government officer, and to be
held as registration of titles, as in America. The ex
penses of obtaining private acts of Parliament ought-to be
very much reduced, and on all occasions lie had deemed
it his duty to endeavour to remove the evil which at pre-
sent existed in this respect. Another reform needed was
the appointment of public prosecutor, and he should be
glad toeruppert any measure oe this subject. After Lord
J. Russell's failure last session it was nut very pro-
bable that any educational scheme containing a rating
clause would be again laid before Parliaineet just yet.
Atter such a decided refu al on the part of Parliament, it
seemed more likely that the opinions of such teen as Sir
James Graham, Mr. Gladstone, and Mr. Henley in fa-
vour of the voluntary principle would prevail. At the
end of the seeiion he had introduced a bill for the aboli-
tion of imprisonment fur debt, and it was his intention
to proceed with it next session. The principle of his bill
was to give to the insolvent debtor whose debt had not
bseu caused by any criminal ac of his own the came pro-
tection which was at preesut given to haukrupts. He was
or epinien teat the income. tax was not at Kasteji equely
assessed on the agri,_ll.tural gclan
ile.dc of a.ss.-, g tar.o.:i a their rental: gay., s t•e,t
~pp.,rtunities eva,•ing tee -a mid tie ,tigut to b., s t
right alit ringhi .y a.. )o,nni:l4 to local tuata he
Mauled d it duty t r.peritrig I zi, e
f chreutnicatt sr, from Lonuon-eridge to Wesienie-ter
th:uugh Southwark, as lately proposed by the Board of
Wor,ts. (Hear) 'l2O the pat Ocular route he could not at
present c•nneirt himself, bra. toe ilnprove.,lentwas grsa ly
needed, and ought to be proceeded with at once. (Hear.)
(A veiee in the rtreeting—" Are we to have Seutuwerk-
bridge free Tnat was a question in which he bad
taken the deepest interest, he bad sat on a committee on
the subject, and he should always do his best to secure
so great an advantage to the borough. (Hear, hear.)
The hon. geetleeran, after congratulating the meeting on
the superior position occupied by this ceuutry in material
resources, agricultural improvements, and manufacturing
intelligence in comparison with the other nations of the
world, sat down amid loud cheers.
Sir CHARLES NAPIER then presented himself, and was
warmly received. He had been sent to Parliament, he
said, with a commission from his constituents to give all
the support he conscientiously could to the Government
of Lord Palmerston. He had given the noble Lord's
Government all the support he could, for he was a very
old friend of
gst I:th i
behs ,
session
n.st
shdi
oe
Thehrn
ee
on
thnaa
firstwdd h act,:
have
been
he
oysene
vh
Isle.
hadgir
arh
bßal o
eeprecopnart
she
oi action
stogi
neoi
,dnna
theotof hv
osot course
rbas gel at nef
annual motion to prevent business of importance being
proceeded with after 12 o'clock at night. That was a
most useful motion, but, of course, it was opposed by
the Government, as, if carried, it would have deprived
them of many opportunities of passing bills without op-
position. He had opposed the Government, too, on
Captain Scobell's motion for a reform in the administra-
tion in the navy, and on the bill for allowing contractors
to sit in Parliament. This last was an absurd notion,
for it was not to be supposed that any contractor in his
senses would vote against the Government which gave
him a job. Only let the Government give him (Sir
Charles) a good contract, and he should be ready to vote
for them himself. (Loud laughter.) He had voted against
the Government on the question of opening the British
Museum on laundays, not that he saw any harm in it
himeelf—(cheers)—indeed he thought it likely to be use
ful in drawing working men away from the publichouses,
but he was informed that there was a strong feeling
against the measure in South wark—(no, no)—and he
had voted in accordance with what he believed to be the
epinion of his constituents. (A voice, "You voted
wrong, then.") He had voted for the abolition of
rates, and he bad voted against the Government on the
billeting question, when they were left in such a large
minority. He had voted against Lord John Russell's 1
education resolutions, because he thought it impossible
for any Government to give an education to the people
which would be satisfactory to all parties. The only
mode of getting over the difficulty was to give a secular
education, and to leave religious teaching to the clergy
of the different denominations. (Hear.) He had voted
in favour of Mr. Spooner's motion, though, in his own
opinion, he believed the present to be a very unwise
time to raise the question. Had it beer, a political
matter he should have followed his own convictions,
but as it involved -a twitter of religious feeling he
t fornadhisthcooungthittuietatnse.cesasaeryhlttdothbeeregfuoirtiatydtahaai"s
the opinion
of the
grant, but he had aLo voted against all other grants
parties
religieue purposes, so as to du equal j o tice to ail
Lord G iderich's motion for opening the civil sleryice to
ltk
competition had had his support, and be woud n e
d
manner support a motion to throw open the army an
to all classes. (Hear.) when the war began we
kn
noew ne
) -thing of Russia. We thought :eothing of the
topol showed that
s
Russians, 6, ut the defence of Sebas
nd
d.
thelyledhaitd. more talent
t,urselav
Wesn,:erwr:e.Yl; than .
soa nr3:, otherly :ineantdi
on
Never hail a fortth" te,7iras. I,oolooilitomrytin
ead-udcaaytiobny
unpreparedes
theirne
forai
country had
At the lttst tb,:ty 6
,fcainfereal fire' of the WO's'
been crying out for
the war. Fur years Parliaraeo
theFfdrtiona:seno,otninraeolyo:f