The Sun.
London, England, 1858-10-19 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 19, 1858.

CONTRACT FOR SMALL ARMS FOR HER MAJESTY'S

SERVICE.

THE SECRETARY of STATE for WAR is
of-A- SMALL ARMS,
complete,t intCfOorNpieriaTieSstfyo,rs
saervSUicel:PLY
con-
sisting of
ARTILLERY CARBINES,
SAPPERS' OVAL-BORED CARBINES, and
SHORT RIFLES.
Forms of Tender, including' the Specifications, can be ob-
tained on application to the Director of Contracts, at the War-
office, Pall-mall, London.
Patterns can beinspected on application to the Inspector
of Small Arms, at the "Tower,' Ba,vott-street, Birming-
ham, on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, in each week.
An Officer of the Small Arms Department will attend on
the above days at the "Tower," Baggott-street, Birming-
ham, in order to give full information to any parties desirous
of tendering. -
The last day for receiving tenders will be the Ist Novem-
ber, 1838.
Such Tenders to be addressed to the Director of Contracts,
War-office, London, marked in - the corner " Tender for
Arms "

THOS. HOWELL-, Director of Contracts.
War-office, Pall-mall, 16th October, 1858.

ARMY CONTRACTS
AND FORAGFOR:BREAD, MEAT, OATS,
E.
WAR-OFFICE, PALL-MALL, LONDON, S.W.,
18th October 1858.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, That the
Secretary of State for War will be prepared to enter into
Contracts in the ensuing month, for such quantities of
BREAD (best Second), MEAT, and FORAGE, as may be re-
quired for her Majesty's Land Forces in Quarters, Barracks, or
Hospitals, for Six Months, from Ist December next.
The Contracts will be made for counties in England, sub-
ject to certain modifications hereafter detailed, for Wales, for
North Britain, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands.
The exceptions to the County Contracts will be as follows :
Special Contracts will be required for the troops at Alder-
shot, Plymouth, 'Devonport, Portsmouth, Chatham,
Gosport, and Woolwich,
Middlesex will be divided into Six Contracts.
Purtleet will be included with the Tower, and 1 ilbury
Fort with Kent.
Scotland will be divided into Four Contracts.
Printed forms of tenders, with the conditions of the seVeral"
contracts may be obtained on application to the Director of
Contracts, at this office, on or after the Ist November next.
All proposals to contract must be made on-the printed form
of tender, which should be properly filled up, signed, sealed,
and marked on the outside -" Tender for Army Supplies," and
delivered at this office, on or before the 10th -November next,
after which no tender will be received.
THOMAS HOWELL, Director of Contracts.

crossing the Mediterranean, ever laid, though thf
difficulties of submerging it are not greater than
would-be experienced in laying a wire across the
Thames.--Daity News. - •

MR. GLADSTON2 ON THE OXFORD
MIDDLE CLASS EXAMINATIONS.

- LIVERPOOL, OCT. 17.
Aftei the close of the. proceedings of the Social
Science Copgress the great hall of St. George's was
crowded to witness the award of the prizes to the
successful candidates at the recent examinations,
and to listen to an address from Mr. W. E. Glad-
stone, M.P. The Earl of Carlisle presided ; and
among those present upon the platform were many
of the leading members of the association. Great
interest was excited by the. expectation of an ad-
dress from Mr. Gladstone, who had arrived in Liver-
pool, and was present on the platform.
The proceedings were opened by the Earl of
CARLISLE, who, after alluding tt the gratification
which the proceedings of the week and of that day
had given him, said. that he rejoiced to find that the
University of Oxford, where he resided during a
few happy years of youth, was com' ing forward to

elicit, to stimulate, and to reward the intellectual
energies of the great middle class of this country.
There had been much controversy with respect to
the whole subject of middle-class examination, with
which, however, he would not trouble the meeting,
but would beg to .offer- his congratulation to the
youths present forwhat they had already achieved,
and his earnest exhortation to them to persevere in
the noble and laudable career upon which they had
entered. Every day the possession of knowledge
and the mastery of mind were becoming more the
conditions 'of suocess and the avenuek to_fame, and
the exercise and proper direction of the intellect,
the taste, -and the fancy; brought pleasures
altogether independent of success and of their
worldly pursuits. (Cheers,) But pleasure was not
entitled-to be eonsidered as the real business of our
responsible lives ; and though success had many
high and noble qualities, particnlarlY when it re
warded the industry and enterprise of such men as
Mr. Brown, or crowned the genius of such men -as
Mi. Gladstone; he would-have them remember that
suCcesi,Wds. compatible with lax principles, vulgar
feelings, and vicious habits, and-might be reached in
this world' of " trial by those Men who showed no
title to the love of their fellows or to the favour of
their God. (Cheers.) Be yOurs, (said his lordship) a
still loftier, a More real ambitien. .It is'not who we
are in the world that really Isignifies, butwhat we'
are. The situations you may fill in after life cannot ,
be considered as within your own control, and even
if they should be as splelidid—and as dazzling as
your most. sanguine dreanth tenild anticipate, they
still might leave you at the close of life mean, un-
-honedred, and Unloved. But the characters you
may form for yourselves in humble dependence 'on
the Divine -assistance, these are -in your own power,
and they will never disappoint -and never fail you.
Each net of virtuous self-denial, the active exercise
of Christian love, the obedience of a life-long faith,
these, my young friends, are:the things-which will
secure for you, not such transient honours and dis=
tinctions as those which lam about to award you,
but the supreme blessing and the immortal crown.
The prizes having been delivered to the success-
ful competitors,
The Right Hon. W. E. GLADSTONE next rose to
the
He
psariidn—cipMalyppose of this
great -ur
Lord Carlisle,
Meeting has, as I conceive, been already ac-
ladi addresses, a
n the
gentlemen,d meeting.
complished ; for that principal purpose, in my view,
has not had reference to the great body of the in-
telligent inhabitants of Liverpool who compose this
vast assembly—deeply interested as they are in the
present occasion—but has had reference to those
young persons who, in the spring timer of their
lives, have_ come 'here, not so much to receive the
'rewards of their past labours,- as to hear words of
encouragement and of instruction, which are to
stimulate them in their future course. Those -words)
I trust, have been deeply engraven on their hearts,
for they have- come, with every advantage that in-
struction could receive, from one of the most dis-
tinguished and eteellent, as well as one of themost
eminent in station of- all the subjects of her Ma-
jesty. (Hear, hear.) But something still remains
to be done, and I have undertaken to propose to
,you a resolution by which, if you will- adopt it,
you will express• your gratitude to the University
Krart;Objec7thtkre.
of Oxford for having organised a system of local
buugehfiotuotf thethe zzitiruyi;itSvvhaitchlarhgaes
ana.e.pccuilly of the minute. crates of
subjects. Now, my lord, I must say- one word on
the character in which I appear before you, although
I say it with reluctance, because too much by far
has already been said, through the partiality of
other spieakers upon that subject. I must forget, as
far as I can, my connection with the University of
Oxford, for upon the present occasion—l say it,
ladies and gentlemen, in deep sincerity—l am speak-
ing to you as one ofyourselves. (Cheers.) Associated
with the town of Liverpool by birth, and by a thou-
sand ties, I feel that I should have deserted the
most sacred of duties if I had failed to take the op-
portunity which your kindness has afforded me of
speaking to you the convictions of
my heart upon
a subject-like the one of to-day, with which, unless
I am greatly mistaken., so much is involved of what.
concerns the welfare of this community. I trust
you will agree to express your thanks to the Univer-
sity of Oxford for the pains they have taken, and
the readiness and promptitude with which they
have moved, in order to meet a crying national
want. It is sometimes thought—and perhaps not
without reason—that it is in the nature of such
bodies to be tardy in meeting the exigencies of the
day; and undoubtedly their spirit is—and their
spirit, I may venture to say, ought to be—a spirit
more anxious about the reality and security than
about the rapidity of their progress.
But there has
been, I may take upon me to assert, no tardiness
upon the part of the universities at least upon. the
present occasion. From the bosom of the universi-
ties themselves proceeded the impulse—the very
first impulse—which led to this great movement ;
and the formal and corporate action of the univer-
cities Leconded and gave form to that impulse at
the very earliest moment which its most ardent
friends could have desired. (Hear, hear.) Well,
now, ladies and gentlemen, I trust we feel that the
gift which has been offered to us in this matter is
a real gift—that these examinations are to be a
real and substantial good. (Hear.) There are
some, perhaps, who are sceptical upon that subject.
There are some who will tell us—and tell us truly
—that a perfectly disinterested love of learning, a
love of learning which needs no spur or incentive
from without, but which is led forward by the in-
trinsic charms and graces of the subject, that that
is the love of learning which is most truly valuable.
This may be so in the abstract ; and there have been
cases in which poverty itself has- proved no insur-
mountable obstacle to: that thirst for instruction
which, in earlier times of less material development
led men from the very ends of the earth to the
sources where knowledge was to be acquired.
(Hear.) But we are to consider the wants and the
exigencies, the dangers and the temptations, of the
particular age in which we liva ; and I appeal to you
whether it is not true that, in a time of great com-
mercial enterprise and of rapid commercial develop-
ment, there is such an increase of the danger that
all the higher aspirations of our nature will be
overborne that it .beconies us, as wise men—as prac-
tical men—to seek the aid of every instrumentality
alive that culture
of whichth m
e keeping n
tghe human intellect
which has done so much for this country and for
Christendom; which so greatly contributes to the
e humany assist
s st
mindn s in
andkadornment and .enjoyment of life, and without
which no great society can discharge its highest
and most sacred duties. (Hear, hear.) The sys-
tem of bxaminations .which has been organised
is no novelty. Those who come from the
universities have had long experience upon
that subject ; and if you are told that the effect
of competition is to introduce an ungenerous
rivalry in the minds of youth, if you are told that
the stimulus given to schools will lead to the neglect
of the mass of the pupils, in order that there may
be more time and greater opportunity in the higher-
cultivation of a favoured few—if you are told, as you
are sometimes honestly, but erroneously told that
the effect of competition is to give an undue pre-
ponderance to the intelfactual, as compared with
the moral elements of character—rely upon it that
those who speak from an experience which has ex-
tended now over centuries will tell you that you
may safely dismiss from your minds at once all such.
apprehensions. (Hear.) I_ .say frankly and fear-
lessly that there is nothing more generous than the
sentiments which are inspired into the breasts of
youths by rivalry such as that to which 'I am re-
ferring. It is in itself essentially. incompatible with
selfish ideas and objects. Learning is not a limited
quantity in such sense- that he whO obtains it
causes his neighbour to lose it. On the contrary,
every one who obtainsit becomes a standard-bearer
for others; and the treasures to which he invites

. , .
them is it treasure-which- is acceptable to all man-
kind. .(Hear, hear.) And as to schools, ladies
and gentlemen, depend upon it that that is an idle
apprehension, and that the schools which pay 'the
greatest attention 'to their best boys. will as a gene=
ral rule, pay the greatest attention to all their boys.
(Hear, hear.) As to the, apprehended prePoncle-
ranee of the intellectual over- the Moral qualities, T-
will venture to say to those who make such an oh-
Jection, that.. they are under an error as serious as
can well he _ 'conceived ; for if . there ' is one
fact more generally and concluSively -established
than another, by examinations of the. teaehers of'
youth, it this, that diligence, and. the self-denial
which diligence involves, Are in - themselves a test
of moral qualities, no less than the promise of in--
Acne-dual distinction. (Hear.) But now, ladies arid
gentlemen, these are topics upon which others may
perhaps enlarge with greater propriety. I must,
however; say a few words in explanation of the
main consideration which induces me to urge this
resolution on your notice. I see in this resolution,
and in. the subject to which it-relates, not the 'close
and consummation of the examinations which have
' lately been held, but
.the beginning of greater
things. .I 'see in -them the - resumption by the
ancient universities of the 'country of their true re-
lation to all classes of the community, as institu-
tions. which have been the pride and glory of Chris-
, tendom, and which ought. to dispense their benefits
to all ranks' of our fellove-citizens. This was the
trueaim 'of-4h°- Universities- upon their:first founda-
tion,- (Hear.) They were intended. to be the
monopoly of the rich.. (Hear.) They were intended
to work the deep mines of eapacityand of character
which existthroughout the whole of every civilised
community. (Hear, hear.) - They were intended to
draw forth from hidden corners and recesses,' wher-
ever they existed, -the- materials- of- genius and
for the glory of God and :the advantage
of the country.. (Hear.) • And that aim they ful-
filled. (Hear.) Go' back to the periodS when the
great movements' of thehuman mind commenced,
and see where it was :that those processes were
elaborated,- and whence it was that 400, 500, 600,
700 yearS ago,, light flowed-in England. -(Hear.)
It was from- the universities ; and as one great poet,
Milton, has..called.Athens,the " Eye of Greece,"
well and truly may it be, said, in reference to their
early history, that the universities of • Oxford-and
Cambridge werethe eyes of England. -(Hear.) Ladies
and gentlemen, I do not say that at present that func-
tion is fully discharged. On the contrary,- we see
that for several centuries those universities have per--
formed duties moat iniportant indeed mid moSt useful,
but comparatively limited.. In the main their utility
has been chiefly confined to the rich. They have
educated-the 'clergy, and in -so -doing have per-
formed a great service to the country.' :They have
educated the greater number—almost the whole,
indeed:---Of -the. sons -of our high nobility. They
have educated the principal part of the sager of
law. •: But-that is-not whole- -of their duty
We have in England vast classes .of men who- are
not comprised in the etitegbry- have re-
ferred--vast Classes of whom the •"great assembly
now before me is a specimen--and I: mist Confess
that I have never, come into South Lancashire,
-vi-thether- into this town of 'Liverpool,' or into the
great and intelligent community of Manchester;
Without feeling deeply what a blank there was—
what a void existed 'requiting-to be filled np--Land.
how the connection between the universities and
this great community. of South Lancashire had so
dwindled- away_ that it-would make but little differ-
encein-the. universities if South' Lancashire were
swallowed up, or -in South LanCashire if Oxford
and Cambridge were in ruins. (Hear, hear.) My-
Lord, this is, I hope, a frank; it is certainly a sin-
cere confession, describing what, in my view, is a
great social evil. At any rate, it shows that we
have fallen far-short of that which our forefathers
designed. --Am I to be told that beCauSe Liverpool
is a great commercial community, therefore . the
higher culture of the human Mind is to be banished
from its boundary? There cannot be- a grosser
error. -.(Hear, hear.) CoMmerce and-learning have
been united in .many communities, ,and -Floreriee
was among the first of commercial cities at the very
'time when' it gave birth to a greater amount 'of
intellectual force and did more . for the civiliza-
tion of mankind than any other -community. at
any period of Christian history. Do not, therefore,-
let us-submit to the degrading belief that if com-
merce is to flourish and grow rn Liverpool, Liver-
pool must of neoessity he behind in • reference to-
those pursuits which do so much to refine and ele-
vate the human mind, and which forms the prin-
cipal 'subject of our consideration to-day. And
permit me, ladies and gentlemen, to say that if I
have spoken strongly on thesOject of competitive
. examinations, andbeen sanguine in. my expectations

that I have perhaps something in the nature of local
sentiment, withal respect, because I feel assured
that in any system of competition that may be
established—and provided that it be a fair and
open sytems—South Lancashire and Liverpool wil
hold their own. My lord, in urging on this meet-
ing that they should hail the occasion which has
called us together to-day, and should consider the
present proceedings as only the very beginning of
what is henceforth to be accomplished, I do so be-
cause I feel that those proceedings' promise the re-
newal and the re-establishment of that relation
between the old universities of the country and
the great commercial and manufacturing com-
munities of the country, which is not, in-
deed, altogether in abeyance, but which has
been feeble, which has been languishing, and
which requires to be reinvigorated and restored.
The universities.cannot afford to dispense with the
aid and moral influence which they would derive
from striking their roots deeper among you. They-
are at present engaged almost entirely, although
not exclusively, in providing education for the rich
—for a class which will, if the universities do not
provide it for them, contrive, in virtue 'of their
riches, to provide it for themselves. We desire to
see' them providing education for those who are
not able to provide it, at least in its highest form,
from their own resources. (Hear.) Your lordship
has been pleak4 to 'connect my name with that of
a geat poet, whose works, by us and by our chil-
dren, must always be held in honour. May Ibe
permitted to refer to one representation of that
great master bard ? He tell us that the army of the
Trojans marched with noise and clamour because
they were ill-assorted and ill-combined ; but that
the army of Greeks marched in silence and with
order, awaiting.. the word of command from their
officers, because they had one heart and one spirit
within them. We happily, in England, see, in no
small measure; even now—and I hope that, as
years roll on, we shall see it more and more—the
realisation of that noble feature of the Greek army
which is the model of every great, happy, and peace-
ful community. We see—and I hope yet more to
see---:-England quiet and contented, because she has
one mind and one heart within her. That unity and
harmony will rise higher in proportion as the insti-
tutions of the country are bound to fulfil their
work—in proportion as all parties are more and
more bound together by kindly feelin g and reciprocal
advantage ; and there never was a happier instance
than that afforded by the meeting now before me of
that happy association and binding together which,
by the favour of Providence, so eminently charac-
tenses England, as compared with so many of the
other countries .of the I ask you,, ladies and
gentlemen, to express to the universities those feel-
ings which will animate and impel them to continue
the career upon which they have entered ; and I
confess I am sanguine- enough to believe that these
local examinations will not end with local exami•

nations, tut that those who are broUght into con-.
tact with the culture of the university, through
the medium of local examinations, will in great and
increasing numbers desire to partake of the benefits
of residence in the universities themselves. On the
other hand, I entertain a sanguine hope that the
universities, finding this disposition existing, will
not be wanting either in skill or promptitude in
adapting their arrangeinents to the existing wants
of the community ; that they will so frame them as
to enable the youth of Liverpool, and of other places
similarly, circumstanced, to-resort to them for the
benefit of the training which they-give,- Without
making a sacrifice of those years which it is impos-
sible for them to devote to the pursuit of learning
without a departure from the absolute and necessary
purposes of a commercial community. All this we
have before us in hope, and in prospect it forms a
pleasing picture ; and depend upon it that if we
will only in detail—each in his own private circle,
in his family and in society--endeavour .to give it
effect, there is nothing contained in it which reason=
able men, may net hope to sec speedily achieved for
the benefit of the country. (Hear.) The work, allow
me to say, is one which, if successfully carried on,
will not be the least important of the performances
of the remarkable age in which we live, and pill
contribute, in -modes and degrees—far more than
any among us can now distinctly reckon—both to
increase female happiness and virtue,. and likewise
to the maintenance of England, and the dischargelise
of the duties of England, as one of the very fore:.
most among those nations. which lead the cause
of civilisation in the world: The right hon-
i man concluded by moving a resolution conveying