The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-12 00:00:00

All that concerns education at the present time
is sure to attract notice and regard, and the speech
of the Duke of BUCKINGHAM at Bristol on the sub-
ject, possesses an additional interest on account of
his position in the Government. The Mayor oppor-
tunely observed that the visit of their distinguished
guest was a proof of the interest which Ministers
took in this question. His Grace distributed the
prizes at the Diocesan Trade School of that city,
and, previous to that ceremony taking place, he
made some remarks on the subject that brought
them together which gave great satisfaction.
First of all he created some amusement by
mentioning the circumstances that had led
to his coming among them. When he was first
invited to take part in the affair he asked, "Is it
usual for the President to distribute prizes at
schools ?" because he thought he would have a great
deal of work to do if he were to distribute prizes at
every school. However, he inquired into the par-
ticulars of this school in question, and found therein
so much to demand respect and regard that he
deemed it due to the citizens of Bristol to
undertake this duty which had been required of
him. The Bristol Trade School holds, indeed,
a peculiar position in the county, being
the most successful, if not the only one, of the kind.
Among the many mistakes which the uninitiated
make as to the duties that devolve upon those in
authority is the notion that gains ground in some
quarters as to the Lords of the Council having
nothing to do but to look after the education of the
people ; but the fact of the case is very different,
and hence this visit to Bristol by the Lord President
of the Council has been often delayed through vari-
ous occurrences, conspicuous among which draw-
backs may be mentioned the cattle plague and the
cholera.

We entirelyconcurin the opinion expressed by the
Duke as to the character of the Bristol School He said
it conferred a marked honour upon the citizens that
they should have inaugurated a school of that par-
ticular class, and carried it so successfully. Among
the many difficulties that beset the path of those
who seek to promote the education of the people,
it is, indeed, most cheering and satisfactory to find
that some decided efforts in the right direction
are being made. The poverty of the parents
makes them consent to almost infantile labour
rather than allow their children to have the
benefits of a good education ; but when all
the preliminary obstacles are removed, the time for
beneficial instruction may be said to commence
when too many leave off their education altogether.
As was remarked by the President, a great deal
might be done by keeping the children at sshool for
a more extended period, " and giving them that
amount of knowledge in the superior branches of
education which no high-pressure work in night
schools or otherwise can ever give them." After
thanking them for their kindness in requesting him
to be present,'the Duke referred to the approaching
Paris Exhibition ; the great " competitive examina-
tion " as he truly designated it,which is to come ou
between the whole world and Paris this year. One
of the chief objects of interest to our com-
munity in this affair will naturally be to see whether
England has or has not kept pace with foreign
countries since the Great Exhibition of 1851.
Whether the result of this searching ordeal finds us
better or worse than we then were, in either case
the energies of our countrymen should be aroused
to great efforts, in order that we may not lag behind
and lose our place among the foremost nations of
the world for intellect and industry.

The Attorney-General has met with a very
flattering reception at Gloucester, where a public
dinner was given to him last evening. In the course
of his speech the right hon. gentleman declared that
he had realised his early dreams in planting himself
in Gloucestershire, with which place he was con-
nected from childhood. Ile did not wish, he said,
to shirk the responsibility thrown upon him in
coming there as her MAJESTY'S Attorney-General,
although no one wished to enter into particulars.
The political object for the night was to
express their attachment to the " specific
form of government under which we live."
As the Attorney-General remarked, it was not only
the Conservatives who looked upon the constitu-
tion of our country with regard, but many of those
who are their political opponents shared equally
with them feelings of respect and veneration. It is
well and wise occasionally to go back to first prin-
ciples, and to examine carefully the foundations
upon which the noblest and best-constructed edifices
rest ; and we think, therefore, that this speech of
the right hon. gentleman is very appropriate
at the present time, when so much is being
said and written in various quarters against
all the time - honoured institutions of the
land. As Sir J. RoLT observed very truly, there
are difficulties in the way of a mixed Government
like ours from which the absolute monarchy, the
pure obligarchy, and the unchecked democracy are
free; but we in England have mastered them, and
the " several powers are so fairly balanced as to
suggest a sort of self-adjusting power." Without
being opposed to real progress he declared himself
to be against change for change's sake. "He was
opposed to that progress made up of spasmodic
acts, or acts by fits and starts, and which did
not look carefully to the end to be reached,
which did not consider the road by which to travel,
and which rushed on at a headlong course, regard-
less of the goal to be reached He and the Conser-
vative party, said the Attorney-General, were pre-
pared to be friends to the progress which carefully
considered the consequences of their acts, and traced
the progress of the people by their growth and de-
velopment, and did not force the development for
party purposes. All things considered we think
this speech was satisfactory, and it certainly does not
support the notion that has been current in some
quarters as to the standstill tendency of the
Government.

The arrival of the Java with news from New
York to the Ist of January does not, of course, give
us much information respecting the great struggle
b_tween the Congress and the PRESIDENT, but the
intelligence which it brings us is not without signi-
ficance. The Congressional Committee of investi-
gation into the riots at New Orleans throws upon
Gen. SnErtmAx the responsibility of the escape of
the rioters. This looks as though the majority in
Congress were determined to quarrel with every
man of mark whose opinions are known to be fa-
vouralA to the restoration of the Southern States.
Gen. SHERMAN himself is no favourite with the
Southerners. The remembrance of that ter-
rible march, which was the virtual cause
of the overthrow of the Confederacy, would
alone prevent SIIER3IAN from being popular
in the States through which he carried fire and
sword. Neyerthelem his earlier azEociationa were