The Sun.
London, England, 1869-04-01 00:00:00

NEEDY KNIPEGUINDER ItEDIVIVUS.

The somewhat notorious Dr. Armstrong, of Burs-
lem, prays every Sunday for the Irish Church, which
he describes to be in deep affliction. He has written
to the Archbishop of Armagh to tell him of those
prayers, and to propose that the Archbishop should
invite his clergy to pray too. The Archbishop is
much obliged, and says he shall be very glad of any
supplications, either in the closet or the congrega-
tion. It does not seem to have struck Dr. Armstrong
that it is rather funny for Irish Churchmen to be
advised to pray for themselves by an English cler-
gyman. If they are in the " deep affliction " he
supposes, one would have thought that they would
have begun praying without any incentive from the
rector of Burslem. Tins Dr. Armstrong ever read
Canning's poem of " The Needy Knifegrinder "

THE EARL OF SHAFTESBURY ON THE HOUSES OF
THE WORKING CLASSES.

The Earl of Shaftesbury on Tuesday laid the
foundation-stone of some
new dwellings for the
working classes, which are being erected in the
suburbs of London. In the speech usual on such
occasions he spoke on the homes of the
working. man. On this subject he declared
his well-known conviction that intemperance
was the cause of a great many of our national
failures; bad homes produced intemperance, and
should, therefore, be made good, if possible.
Good dwellings
produced in many cases good
habits. Let us, then, said his lordship, have them
by all means. The people of England would never
be as they ought to be without three rooms being set
apart for each family. When that took place, and
the houses were clean and comfortable, the working
men would be entitled to universal suffrage. " I do
not talk politics on these occasions. lam not called
an advanced Liberal, and am not so. lam hardly a
Liberal, and do not pretend to be ; but if I could see
the working classes brought to the condition I speak
of, I should be the first to propose universal
suffrage,"

T.DUCATION STATISTICS.
There is one item of national expenditure whose
increase might well be a matter for congratulation
rather than for regret--the Education Estimates.
From a Parliamentary return just issued, it appears
that the sum spent upon ethication in England and
-Wales during the past ten years has increased from
£788,401 to £1,021,184. A still more satisfactory
feature of these statistics is that while the total sum
thus spent upon education has augmented, the
augmentation has been met not by increased
taxation, but by increased payment on the part
of parents and by increased subscriptions. The " school
pence" have risen in a very remarliable degree, viz.,
from i'_20,474 in 1858 to £480,270 in 18(38—in fact,
they are not far short of double. This seems to chew
that education is being more valued every year by
the class for
whose benefit it is promoted. The
subscriptions have increased to a much smaller
extent, viz., from £4158,151 to £499,782. This is
as it should be ; education should be as little eleemo-
synary as poss:ble, and the more ifs expense is
defrayed by those who enjoy the advantage of it the
better. While the school pence have nearly doubled,
the parliamentary grant has largely decreased. It
reached its maximum in 1802, when the amount was
£700,700, having increased nearly £lOO,OOO in four
years. Mr. Lowe then took the matter in hand, and
devised various reforms, which excited great indigna-
tion at the time, but which have had this result—the
amount spent on education is £124,000 more than it
was when the Government grant was highest, and
yet the Government grant is £llO 000 less. The
difference has been made up for the most part by
those who ought to pay—the parents. The total
,
amount from all quarters spent on education during
the ten years 1850-68, is £8,991,405.
Turning to Scotland we find very similar results.
The total amount spent in 1808 was about £70,000
more than that spent in 180, and about £46,000
more than when the parliamentary grant was highest.
That grant has been reduced from £115,317 to
£90,034. The school pence have increased in ten
years from £47.050 to £00,031, and the subscriptions
from £41,833 to £00,623. The total amount from
all sources spent on education in Scotland during the
ten years was £1,420,460,
TIN ENDOIVED SCHOOtS WU,
"M.A." writes to the Times ft long letter on the
Endowed Schools Bill. Ile points out what he con-
siders to be two blots in Mr, Forster's scheme: The
tint is tile exemption or Vid Seven great schools from
the soope of the Edtitatinnal Cott3ioil, Utah, Win-
chester, Harrow, Rugby,
Charterhouse,Westmitiater,
and Shrewsbury are not to be in any way under the
power of the neotninissioners, because they have
a commi w. cl
ssion of their own, But why (he asks)
should they not be subject to the Council. Either
the Educational Council is gaud for Eton and Rugby,
or it is not good for Marlborough and Uppingham,
"Why should Parliament trust the governors and
masters of Charterhouse and Shrewsbury more
than those of Tunbridge and Sherborne ? What have
the parents who send their sons to Wesminster
and Harrow done that they should be deprived
of a test which is granted to the parents
who select Canterbury or Repton ? Why should
old endowments like Winchester be left unguarded,
and new ones like Wellington College, Bradfield, and
Lancing stand in need of additional safeguards ?
"..M.A." also argues against the proposed exemption
on the ground that iti would practically exclude
from the Council the men taught in the
exempted schools ; and by implying that the
Council was not fitted to govern the higher
would lower its prestige. Secondly, "M.A." argues
for a rearrangement of the present system as regards
the cathedral schools. These schools no longer fulfil
their original intention,
as many of the original
provisions concerning them have become obsolete.
And yet the-commissionere are not to have power to
remodel them without the consent of the Dean and
Chapter of the cathedral.
The correspondent of the
Times argues that they should have this power, and
suggests, among other things, that the management of
theschools should be taken from the Dean and Chapter,
the present allowances made by them rendered
permanent, and the schools further endowed from
the increased moneys which the Ecclesiastical Com-
missioners have received on account of the increase
in the value of cathedral property.
Miss cATEPANTEIt.

ss Afreies !announces, is so
seriously Inii.itliVa;ls?lQ vi 1,1 allirted speedily
e
,
o return to ncr lana, It is to Vehoped that
though
,glving up her work of female education in
India, she will be spared to return to her old work
amongst the criminals of this country,
TIM MARQUIS OF WATERFORD,

Mrs. Vivian has much to answer for. She has not
only brought disgrace upon herself and sorrow to
her husband and children, but has added another to
the list of absentee Irish landlords. The Marquis of
'Waterford has broken up his, establishment at Cur-
raghmore, and all the servants save two have
been informed that their services will be no
longer required. . local paper adds :—".The
absence of a resident 'nobleman who spent so much
time at his family residence, will be felt seriously in
the locality,"- The. MarqUis may take to himself this
reflection, that he has done more to • shake the
ig3iiratiaLbuirlacUgonextrja_kkix4,_ thi4 fa tail