The Sun.
London, England, 1867-05-23 00:00:00

THE REFORM LEAGUE.

be probably very heavy. We have examined the two
blocks for ourselves, and there is plenty of accom-

The council of the Reform League met last even-' modation in Queen Mary's quarter for 300 men,
ing in their rooms, Adelphi-terrace, Strand, Mr. E. with ample cubic space. It is the view taken by Dr.
Beales, president, in the chair. The following let- Bryson, and subsequently by Mr. Holmes and Dr.
ter from Count Bistnark was read :—" Berlin, May Bristowe, but these gentlemen base their opinions
17, 1867. Gentlemen,—l have the honour to ac- upon the possibility of converting the present block
knowledge the receipt of a resolution passed at a into large wards by the demolition of the present
meeting of metropolitan delegates from trades, partitioning. So far, then, asregards ventilation and
friendly, and temperance and other societies, and space. The Admiralty lay much stress on the supe-
front 100 Loudon branches of the Reform League, rior cooking, washing, and laundry arrangements
congratulating the people of North Germany on offered by Queen Mary's quarter, and sufficient for
the achievement of full representation and vote by 800 men. The Seaman's Hospital Society consider
ballot, and commenting very kindly on my conduct these out of all proportion to their requirements, in-
in advising and defending that reform. lam glad deed, too extensive to be used by them. The main
to think that the origin of the late Reichstag, and object sought to be obtained by the Dreadnaught
the proceedings of that efficient and patriotic body, , Hospital—that of obtaining a river frontage—has
should have met with so much sympathy in a court- ' been kept in the background, though there can be no
try the history and institutions of which have al- ' gainsaying the advantage of such a step. It becomes
ways afforded, and will not cease to afford, a highly a question whether it would not he preterable to
interes ing object to the scrutiny and reflection of build a new hospital on the ground already in posses-
continental politicians. May the time be not far dis- sion of the Dreadnought authorities, hard by .the
taut when all the nations of Europe will turn their Greenwich Hospital, especially as the occupancy of
attention to each other for no other purpose than that any block in the latter would be merely that of
of emulating in good government and the arts of " tenants at will ;" and should any emergency arise
peace. You will oblige me by conveying to the to necessitate the use of the now empty parts of
members of the meeting the expression of my sincere Greenwich Hospital by the Admiralty, the Dread-
thanks for their flattering appreciation of what I I nought might be placed in a very awkward predica-
have been doing to serve the King and my country I ment. The Seaman's Hospital Society would do
in conformity with the individual character of well to consider whether the lodgment of their in-
society and political institutions in Germany. I am, stitution in a Government building might not also
Gentlemen, your obedient servant, BISMARK.—To lead the public at large to regard it as a substantial
Edmond Beales, Esq., and the other Executive help, and therefore to a certain extent as rendering
Officers of the Reform League." Mr. Dresser Rogers any extra pecuniary assistance unnecessary. This
read the financial report for the year ending would be an unfortunate occurrence, because the
April 20, 1867, by which it appeared that the in- Seaman's Hospital is one of the most valuable of all
come of the League from all sources had been our charities ; and considering that scurvy is possi-
£3,ol3, and the expenditure amounted to £2,976. bly on the increase, and the demands made upon its
The assets and cash in hand amount to £226, anal
i resources are daily increasing, it is to be hoped that
the present liabilities to £l2l 19s. 2d. On the ere long something will be done to give it a perms•
motion of Mr. Richardson, seconded by Dr. Per- nent home on land and increased opportunities o:
fitt, the report was received and adopted. The doing good to our much neglected seamen.
chairman read the annual report of the Executive
Council of the League, which was received and
adopted. The chairman said he could not help
congratulating the meeting on the reports, especially
on the financial report. If it were true that there
had been accusations thrown out that members of the
League were fattening on the funds, they would be
all met by the simple publication of the balance-
sheet just read. He wished to take the opportunity
of stating in the strongest manner his high appre-
ciation of the active, constant, zealous, and unpaid
labours of the working men. The League could not
have been carried on for one month if it had not
been for these unpaid labours. With respect to the
Royal I'atks Bill, it appeared that Mr. Gathorne
Hardy had stated it would be brought on for second
reading after Whitsuntide, when public feeling on
the subject had subsided. He thought that feeling
ought not to be allowed to subside, and that it was
their duty to call as large a meeting as possible in
Hyde Park to protest against the bill. The demon-
stration should be made as effective as possible,
because it was quite clear that what the League had
done produced its effect. Mr. Lucraft moved, and
Mr. Odger seconded, the following resolution,
which was unanimously carried :—" That the Go-
vernment having intimated their intention to pro-
ceed with the Royal Parks Bill after Whitsuntide,
and then to move its second reading, this Council
resolves, in case of this intention, which it much re-
grets, being persevered in, to summon a monster
meeting of the inhabitants of the metropolis in Hyde
Park for the purpose of protesting against the at-
tempt proposed to be made by the bill in question
to deprive the public of their admitted right to meet
in the park for the consideration of political and
other questions—a right which has been lately exer-
cised with so much order and propriety, and without
any perceptible interference with the use and enjoy-
ment of the Park by others." Mr. Odger moved
the following resolution, which, being seconded by
Mr. Bannister, was carried : "That this Council
meet on the night after the introduction of the pro-
mised Government amendments relating to the com-
pound househol ler, as upon the character of these
antend,nents will depend to a great extent the future
policy of the League in regard to the bill."

TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN ENGLAND,

(From the Mechanics' Magazine.)
There is a marked contrast between the avowed
intention of the instruction of youth on the con-
tinent and in this country. 'lle general consent of

authority here is that the object of the school is
chiefly and primarily mental discipline, and, in a
secondary degree, the acquirement of rudimentary
knowledge of these subjects which either form the
key to other studies, or which must necessarily be
studied early, if they are ever to be mastered. It is
only casually that useful knowledge is admitted in
our conventional notion of education. The chief

work of our public schools is the classics, and these
are taught more as illustrations of general grammar
and of the structure of language than with a view
to the mere facility of reading Latin and Greek
authors. Mathematics are but little studied ; and
the modern tendency is to regard them more as a

peculiar example and exercise of logic than to teach

them with direct reference to their immediate prac-
tical use. Mensuration, linear drawing, and practi-
cal geometry have been dropped, and descriptive
geometry never adopted in the ordinary curriculum.

The presumption is that the school and the university
have trained a man to learn, and that his practical
education begins when he leaves the latter. We are
not prepared to discuss the propriety of the system in
so far as it applies to the higher and wealthier
classes. We may be quite sure that they will always
see their own true interests, or, if they do not, that
they will soon be replaced by people who are more
alert. It is sufficient to observe that it defers prac-
tical education to an age when the children of the
middle and professional classes ought to have begun

to maintain themselves. Now, in France, Prussia,
Switzerland, and the states lying between them, the
instruction of the people is conducted on a totally
different principle. NVllile the classics are far less
exclusively studied, a knowledge of them is much
more common. They are taught as languages to
be understood and written, while the chief applica-

THE 1) I:E.-1 1) NO TIG 117 AA D 711 E
A 1)3111.ILTY.

The Dreadnought authoritie3 have received a
co►niuunica ion from the Admiralty offering the

quarter of Greenwich Hospital known as Queen
Mary's for the purposes of their hospital. It is fully
believed that this offer will be refused. The Seaman's

Hospital Society and the Admiralty altogether differ
as regards the comparative advantages, so far as the
Proadlnoughtllospital is concerned, of the two blocks
of buildings known as Queen Mary's and Queen
Annie's ; the latter possessing a river frontage. The
Admiralty, after full inquiry, have arrived at the
conclusion that the former can be best adapted for
the treatment of the sick. On the other hand, a

special report made at the request of the committee
of the Seaman's Hospital Society by Mr. Busk, the

consulting surgeon of the Dreadnought, and pre-
- - -

seated on the 7th inst., condemn's Queen Mary's
quarter. Mr. Busk has been connected with the
society for a period of 30 years, and is therefore natu-
rally conversant with the peculiar wants of the patients
admitted into the Dreadnought, and it is expected
that the committee of the society will be guided in
great measure by his opinion in the matter. Mr.
Busk says in his report, "Of the two I think there
can be no doubt that the more eligible is Queen
Anne's wing►, not only from its better position, but
that it might be possible to render the wards in it in
some degree availablefor the number of beds required
by the Seaman's Hospital. I say nothing about the
want of kitchens, baths, and other conveniences,
such as surgery, dispensary, receiving-room, operat-
ing-room, &c., bec Luse it is clear that all those can
be constructed in the officers' dwelling-houses at the
north and south sides of the quadrangle, which would
afford convenience for special wards also. On the
whole, I think Queen Anne's wing might at conside-
rable expense, probably, be made available for the
purposes of the hospital and for the fair accommoda-
tion of between 200 and 300 beds." Mr. Busk says,
with regard to Queen Mary's wing, " I look upon it
as next to impossible to find anything like proper
ward accommodation in it for more than about 100
patients at most. Owing to the peculiar construc-
tion of the building, the greater part of the present
wards, though they have served well enough for the
purpose for which they were built, is wholly inappli-
cable to that of a hospital for sick persons, for instance
the windows on the second floor are so small, and the
wards themselves, if I am not wrong, so low that they
could not be used at all." Now the original report
made to the Admiralty by the Director-General of
the Navy, and the subsequent inspection made by
Dr. Bristowe and Mr. Holmes are entirely opposed
to that submitted to the committee of the Seaman's
Hospital Society by Mr. Busk. The objections to
both block of buildings have been very freely can-
vassed, but Mr. Busk does not seem to be aware
that the disadvantages that he describes as belong-
ing to the Queen Mary's, have been pronounced by
the Admiralty to be removable. We may recapitu-
late the facts of the case. The Queen Anne's quar-
ter, which faces the river, is a square block,
enclosing a conrt-yard, and the part which forms
each sith of the square forms, of course, the wards.
A central, massive wall runs from top to bottom of
the building, so as to divide each ward into two
halves, with a window on one side only. Now the
fact of there being an enclosed court-yard, and the
partitioning of the wards, with a wind° ,v on one
side only, prevents a current of air laterally through
the building. On the other hand, i❑ the Queen
Mary's block, which is oblong, on' side of the square
is formed by au open corridor. There is. no partition
running through the centre of the wards, whilst there
are windows on both sides, and air can be made to
piss freely iu all directions. In both quarters the
ward 3 are divided into cabins. In Queen Ann's these
can be removed, but the central wall partition must
remain. In Queen Mary's quarter the whole of the
cabins can be knocked away, and the Admiralty ar-
chitect affirms that the stronger partitions can be
removed so as to convert the wards that are now
partitioned off in cabins, practically into large and
airy ones, having the freest communication from
side to side and front top to bottom. It is this fact
that the Dreadnought authorities no not seem to
have recognised. The expense of ads change would

tion of grammar is to the language of the country,
whether French, German, or Dutch. Geometry is
taught, not from Euclid, but in a thoroughly prac
tical fora►, twit tho wholo of tho mathematical in-
struction has direct reference to possible applica-
tion. The result is that an English boy leaves
school at 15 or 16 years of age with an imperfect
smattering of Latin and Greek and an acquaint-
ance with algebra and Euclid which it would be ri-
diculous to dignify by the name of mathematical
knowledge ; while the French or German has ac-
quired a useful general training, of which he finds
the immediate application in his technical school,
if he is in a situation to prolong his education, or
in his business, if he passes at onc?, to a skilled
handicraft. As regards the higher results of the
two systems, we do not find that the best scholars
of France and Germany are inferior to the great men
whom our own universities hdve produced. At the
other end of the system we find that the superior
education of the artisans, and especially of the for-
me❑ and designers, have enabled them to compete
with and outsell us in our best staples, notwith-
standing the advantage which we had i❑ holding
prior possession of the markets, and in cheap access
to raw material. We have no longer the lead either
as workers in iron, as engineers, or as engineering
contractors. It is not many years since that these
three things were among our chief sources of na-
tional pride. It is a very significant thing that one
of the difficulties which Mr. Merrifield said lie l:ad
had to encounter was the want of proper English
books for practical instruction. Ile attributed this
to the increasing logical tendency of university ma-
thematics. We think it quite probable he his not
made sufficient allowance for the very special cha-
racter of the instruction which it is his duty to im-
part, and for the obvious difficulty of exactly suiting,
out of the existing means, any unexpected require-
ment. Still, as he stated that much of what has to
be taught in the School of Naval Architecture is
simply pure mathematics and mechanics, it is not
likely that the complaint is wholly without founda-
tion. Mr. Scott Russell's paper is little more than a
detailed illustration of what we have advanced, a,
an account of the constitution and progress of the
School of Naval Architecture at South Kensington.
We have made free use of his ideas in our argu-
ments, and this acknowledgment will render an
epitome of his paper superfluous. We cannot too
earnestly impress on our readers the importance
of encouraging technical education in this coun-
try. There are at present but three professions
which really receive it—the Royal Navy, the
Royal Engineers, the Artillery, and the Staff of
the Army, and the medical profession. To these
we think we may now adi the naval architects and
marine engineers, although we can hardly regard
their school at South Kensington as more than a
promising experiment. The chemists and the pat-
tern designers, too, have done a little; and this
short summary disposes of all that exists in England
in the way of technical instruction. But there is
an increasing sense of its value, which we hope our
civil engineers and metallurgists will not be the last
to carry into practical effect.

DROWNED WHILST ATTEMPTING TO SAVE A
DoG.—A very painful case of drowning took place in the
River Don, near Doncaster, ou Sunday morning. A
painter at the Railway-phut Works, named Wharton, 31
years of age, went with his wife fur a walk in Crirnpsail,
by the river side. They took their little dog with them, and
were accompanied by a friend and his wife, who had also a
dog with them. When opposite Newton deceased suggested
that the dogs should be sent into the watt-r, but his dog

being a very young one did not tak•b to the river so kiu(llv
as was expected, and Wharton asked his friend to throw it

in. This was done, when the poor little animal was seen
struggling as though it were drowning; thereupon deceased,
who was a good swimmer, took off all his things, save his
stockings and trousers, and jumped into the river to the
rescue of his dog. Directly he got into the water he ap-
peared 0 struggle violently, and almost immediately went
down. He rose again on his side, and his friend rushed
nearly up to his neck iu the river and put out his hand to
save him. At the same instant the poor distracted wife
rushed almost into the water imploring the man to save
her husband or let her die with him, and it was all he
could do to prevent her jumping in after her husband. In
the meantime the unfortunate man had disappeared, whilst
the dog had struggled to shore. The body of deceased was
recovered about two hours afterwards, and an inquest was
held last evening before Mr. John Lister, the borough
coroner, when a verdict was returned ,n accordance with
[ the above facts.—Yorlohire F.