The Sun.
London, England, 1835-06-19 00:00:00

Sir William Rae, which was carried on in so low a tone as to public schoolhere, each class is taken up for the hour by a se-
be almost inaudible in the gallery. It was as to which would I parate master. Thus, on the Monday, from eight to nine, the
be the most convenient night for taking up the motion of the Director lectures to the first class (mostly youths from 16 to
Hon. Member for Cupar, which was dropped on account of 20) upon the principles of Christianity, according toh thave e
li-
the House being counted out. theran Church ; from this lesson, of course, all who
It was understood that Sir WM. RAE fixed that he would scientions scruples are at liberty to absent themselves; from
bring it forward on Monday week. nine to ten, a junior teacher gives them a lesson in Mathema-
Mr. HUME asked if the return of the revenues of the Irish tics ; from ten to eleven, a lecture on Roman Literary His-
Church was yet prepared. tory ; from eleven to twelve, the Director reads Sophocles
Lord JOHN RUSSELL replied that it was in prepara- with them ; from two to three, Cicero with the Director;
tion, and should be laid on the table on Monday. from three to four, Latin themes with the Director, who takes
Lord SANDON wished to know whether the evidence all the themes home with him, there corrects them, and at the
would be printed at length ? evening lesson makes his remarks, viva voce to the whole class.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL thought a fair abstract would be On Tuesday the lessons are nearly the same as on Monday,
sufficient. except that, instead of Latin themes, the last hour is devoted
Mr. HUME begged to ask the Noble Lord opposite, to Latin disputations.
whether Col. Lindsey had been appointed to the command of On Wednesday—from eight to nine, Tacitus ; from nine to
a Scotch Regiment of Militia. He was anxious upon this ten, Thucydides ; from ten to eleven, German Literary His-
point, because he believed Col. Lindsey was a most violent op- tory ; from eleven to twelve, English ; from twelve to one,
poser of liberal measures, and an opponent of the present Go- Hebrew.
vernment, and he thought it inconsistent with sound policy to On Thursday—from eight to nine, Sophecles ; nine to ten,
make such an appointment. Mathematics ; ten to eleven, General History ; eleven to twelve,
Lord JOHN RUSSELL had recommended the appoint- Greek Themes • twelve to oile, Drawing; two to three, Ho-
ment of Colonel Lindsey, and it had received his Majesty's race ; three to four, French.
approval.—( Loud cries of " Hear" from the opposition.) On Friday—from eight to nine, Latin Extempore Comp-
The NOBLE Loan then moved the Order of the Day for the sition ; nine to ten, Thucydides; ten to eleven, General His-
House going into Supply.—( There were loud cries for " Mr. tory ; eleven to twelve, German Themes ; twelve to one,
Duncombe," which were followed by loud cries for " Mr. Drawing ; two to three, Horace ; three to four, French.
Buxton," and " Chair, chair.") On Saturday—from eight to nine, Tacitus ; nine to ten,
The SPEAKER called upon Mr. Duncombe. Thucydides ; ten to eleven, German Literary History ; eleven
FOREIGN POLICY. to twelve, English ; twelve to one, Hebrew.
Mr. DUNCOMBE in moving for the production of papers The principle fur the distribution of the lessons is the same
of which he had given notice, begged to observe in the other classes ; but I will not inflict the entire details
that there was no instance to be found in the parliamentary upon you; I will merely mention, that in the second class the
history of that country, in which its foreign policy had been books read are —Terence, Cicero's Orations, Livy, Homer's
so much disregarded as during the present Session. It was Iliad, Socrates, and Herodutus. In the third—Caesar, se
-
therefore that he wished to call the attention of the House to it, lections from Cicero and Ovid, the Odyssey. and Xenophon.
satisfied as he was, that in the present alarming and critical In the fourth and fifth classes some easy Latin prose author is
state of Spain a construction might be put upon their silence, read ; and in these classes there are regular masters for writ-
neither creditable to themselves nor just towards other countries. ing, arithmetic, geography, natural history, &c., subjects
He regretted that he did not see the Noble Lord at the head which, it is supposed, the pupils will study out of the school
of the popular party in his place--( A laugh)—because if there when they rise into the upper classes. In the lower classes I
was one branch more than another of policy which had recom- was sorry to find that corporal punishments were still occa-
mended him to public approbation, it was his conduct and sionally resorted to ; but in the three upper classes they are
speeches on the affairs of the Ptninsula.—(Hear, hear.) strictly forbidden, solitary confinement or expulsion being the
Let them see in what situation the mission placed them—look- only means found requisite for the maintenance of perfect die-
ing at the effects of it, there was nothing so likely to pro- cipline.
mote the interests of an usurper. By the Quadrupartite In addition to these schools is the Gymnasium, a kind ()-
Treaty of last August, whereby Spain and Portugal jointly preparatory University, which is entirely independent of the
engaged to clear their respective countries from the rebels— schools. To the Gymnasium five professors are attached,
France and England engaging to supply arrns, &c., that treaty had who deliver lectures on theology, history, mathematics, botany,
been called an atrocious treaty, merely, he supposed, be- and philology. The object of the Gymnasium is to receive
cause, if faithfully and honourably carried into effect, boys who, having completed their course of studies at the
it would put an immediate end to the hopes of Don public school, are still considered too young by their pa-
Carlos and his friends in this country. Yet, in the face rents to be sent away to the licence of a University town•
of that treaty, they found Commissioners treatiug with Warm, the historical professor, and Lehmann, the botanical
him, who in that treaty was designated a rebel. The professor, are considered men of high eminence in their
only result of such an act was, to give a moral several departments ; the latter has lately suffered in public
countenance and support to the cause of the rebel estimation in consequence of a silly squabble about the ori-
and of course to continue that bloodshed which it pro- ginality of a rose, in which he engaged with a clever and ac-
fessed to put an end to.—( Hear, hear, hear.) He had tive Scotchman, of the name of Booth, the proprietor of some
many years' acquaintance with both -Lord Eliot and extensive nursery-grounds in the neighbourhood of Hamburg.
Colonel Gurwood. In their private life he admired and re- The yearly salary of the professors attached to the Gymna-
spected them, but as the agents of a Government in whose slum school is, lam told, only 800 dollars, are not quite 1501.
foreign policy he could not agree, he feared them, and could But they divide amongst themselves the whole of the money
not put confidence in them. received as school-fees from the pupils. The fee at each Of
Lord J. RUSSELL opposed the motion, and was left the establishments is one hundred marks, or about six guineas
speaking. annually. At the Gymnasium, however, the number of pupils
is seldom above twenty-nine or thirty, so the professors can de-
rive only a small additional income from that source; at the
school the number fluctuates between three hundred and feet
hundred, and there the school fees must form a-very material
part of the remuneration to the professors. The French and
English masters, and the other teachers, are paid not very li-
berally, but evidently sufficiently so to procure the services of
respectable and competent men. There is a standing Com-
mittee composed of four Senators and the five principl clergy-
men, under whose controul everything connected with the
schools are placed.
This plan, which I have endeavoured to make clear to Your
readers, has pleased me much, and is the same, with sliglig
modifications, on which the higher order of public schools are
established all over Germany. There are three or four similar
schools in the neighbourhood—that is to say, within 50 miles;
and that of Lubeck, I have been told by some people, is eve°
superior to that of Hamburg ; at all events an advantageous
spirit of emulation exists between the two. The commercial
department. however, I am led to believe, is incontestibly so-
,erior to Hamburg.
I have been somewhat diffuse on this subject from two nlos
tives. The first is, that I wish some of our large towns would
establish schools on this plan, if it were only to shame or
public establishments something. like decent exertion
in
Cot-
the cause of education. I; might form a feature in the C 01"
potation Reform Bill to require every Corporation to devote a
portion of its funds to the erection of such a school, and'
where a better plan could not by suggested, the German plan
might be adopted.
My second motive is to call the attention of the English.
public to the school in question. Many children are sent ovet"
to the Continent for education, and very frequently, I fear, pa-
rents afterwards find cause bitterly to repent the step. 1,11
France schools are on a worse footing even than in England,
and children returning from French schools seldom bring an/
thing back with them but bad morals and a smattering of the
language.
Tho public schools of Hamburg and Lubeck, on the other
hand, are establishments of acknowledged eminence ; there
the sons of the best families of the place, and of many of the
wealthy or noble families of the country round, are educa-
ted, and the constant vigilance of the public authorities is ex-
ercised, to maintain the efficiency of the establishments.
t 6 be
professors all receive one or two pupils as boarders into their
houses, and their charges, though higher than those of a
boarding-school, are by no means exorbitant. The English
h
and French teachers do the same, and thus an advantageoesa
opportunity is offered to parents who wish their children to, be
educated abroad, of placing them at a first-rate public school,
and securing them at the same time all the enjoyments of
English Family.

THE ENGLISH IS HAMBURG.

(From the Morning Herald.)
HAMBURG, JUNE 2.
My Dear Herald,—The most important event that has re•
cently happened in Germany is the junction of Baden with the
Commercial Union of Prussia, and it seems that there is now
not the least doubt entertained that Frankfort and Nassau will
join in a few weeks. There will then only remain Hanover,
Brunswick, Mecklenburg, Oldenburg, Holstein, and the three
free cities of Hamburg, Lubeck, and Bremen, that will not
have been brought under the direct commercial control of
Prussia. All the rest of Germany, excepting always the Aus-
trian States, will then form one great commercial State, con-
taining a population of about 25,000,000 of inhabitants, with
whom it will be of vital importance to England to enter into
friendly relations, by agreeing to a cessation of those Custom-
house hostilities by which the intercourse between England
and Germany is at present so materially impeded. It would
be vain to regret a state of things which, however desirable it
ni:ght have 11:.cn to have prevented it, has now been completely
; it clio7;[(1 be the business of our Government, by
liereediate in waken the effects of a powerful
coaliioh thicett,(l, :Ig.,;inst our commerce, Unfortunately Cue
party ,t,-uggle going on in EiLlaial is calculated to destro)
a groat measure her influence on the Continent. No one
knows, though of course every one builds up a fabric of Tutu.
rite on the shadowy basis of his hopes and fears, which of the
two contending principles will finally triumph. The conse-
quence of this state of things is most injuriously felt by all our
foreign Ambassadors. The greater part of them are sedu-
lously occupied in shaping their conduct in such a manner that
another change of Ministers may not necessarily call for a
change in the diplomatic appointments to this or that Court ;
and even where principle and duty are preferred to official se-
curity, an English Ambassador finds his influence completely
lamed, by the opinion, either real or affected, which prevails
there, that the Ministerial arrangements of England for the
time being are to be considered only of a temporary character.
Such a state of things has now continued for nearly five years,
and most ably has Prussia taken advantage of it to draw nearly
all the minor States of Germany within her power ; those that
still remain independent are enumerated above, but in all of
them the agents of Prussia are actively engaged in endeavour-
ing to complete the commercial subjection of Germany, Han-
over, Brunswick, Holstein, Oldenburg, Mecklenburg ; and the
three Hanse Towns ought to be prevailed on immediately to
form a counter union under the protection of England. Den-
mark, Belgium, and Holland might possibly be induced to join
it, in which case a balance of commercial power would be re-
established.
The accession of Baden to the commercial league will pro-
bably be found more injurious to France than to England ; but
the same liberal policy by which England may yet rescue the
maritime States of the North of Germany, would have en-
abled France to have preserved Bavaria, Wirtemberg, and
Baden, from the clutches of Prussia. Let our Statesmen be
careful not to lose sight of the important fact, that not one of
the maritime States of Germany has yet joined the commercial
league against us, and not one of them will join it, if England
offers them terms as advantageous as those which Prussia
offers ; but that every one will join it if precautionary mea-
sures are not taken, and that then the whole of Germany
will be sealed against the produce of English industry as effec-
tually as France is at this moment.
The announcement that their Government had joined the
league seems to have come most unexpectedly upon the people
of Baden, On the 18th ult. the Second Chamber were occu-
Cod with the discussion of a resolution directed against the
Diet of Frankfort. Von Rotteck had brought the resolution
forward, and supported it by a speech of even more than usual
energy. His speech was ordered to be printed by the Cham-
ber, but has since been suppressed by the Government, and
every attempt to insert a report of it in any German paper has
been baffled by the implacable vigilance of the censors. The
Ministry did not meet the resolution with a direct negative,
but contented themselves with referring it for consideration to
the Sections of the Chamber, which was agreed to after an ani-
mated and prolonged debate. Immediately after the close of
the debate, the Minister of Finance entered, and astonished
the assembly by announcing that on the 12th (six days pre-
viously) a treaty had been signed at Berlin, by which Baden
agreed to join the Commercial Union. The Chamber was
invited to sanction :the treaty by their vote, and as it is well
known that a number of the members are favourably disposed
to the principle of the measure, there is no doubt that the
Government will immediately be able to obtain the requisite
sanction.
To some of the merchants the effects of the measure will be
ruinous, as not only the higher rate of duties immediately
comes into force, but upon all goods already admitted into the
Grand Duchy and deposited in the Government warehousee,
the extra duties will have to be paid. So completely,
said, had the negotiation been kept a secret, that not one
merchant had cleared a greater quantity of merchandize than
was necessary to meet the current demand. Baden binds itself
to these painful terms without even entering upon the imme-
diate enjoyment of the advantages which the Union holds out,
for the Custom House line against her is to be maintained for
three months longer, with a view that the stocks already in the
hands of the retailers may meanwhile be consumed.
I have written at such length upon the subject of the Com-
mercial Union, that I have scarcely left myself room for any
local gossip. I promised, however, in my last letter to give
you some account of the public school here, and shall now
proceed to the due discharge of the obligation so incurred.
The public school, properly so called, is divided into two de-
partments—the classical and the commercial. Each of these
two branches is again divided into five classes, and to each of
these ten classes is assigned a separate class room, under the
immediate superintendence of a master responsible for the
management of his class. The whole is under the manage-
ment of a Director, who acts as class-master to the first clas-
sical class. Each of the other four classes is under the super-
intendence of a Professor, and another Professor acts as Vice
Director over the commercial school. The fourth and fifth
commercial classes are looked upon in the light of a prepa-
ratory school; children of six and seven years old being re-
ceived there, and on being promoted from the fourth class,
they advance into the fifth classical or third commercial class,
accordingly as their friends intend them for trade, or for one of
the learned professions. The average number of pupils at the
school fluctuates between 360 and 400, making an average of
about 36 or 40 for each class, but the fact is that the higher
classes are much more numerous than the inferior ones. None
of the acts of tyranny, so disgraceful at our own public schools,
can here be exercised against the younger boys by their seniors,
for no boy, under any pretence whatever, is allowed to enter
any class-room but his own, and for any irregularity within
the class the class-master is of course responsible. The class-
master is not, however, confined in his tuition to his own class,
but may be appointed to give particular lessons in every class
where the Director may think his services likely to prove most
available. For instance, one professor may happen to be most
eminent in mathematics, and his services may, therefore, be
required in several classes besides his own ; another in natural
philosophy, and so on. But at no time is there more than one
master present at once, and while there he cccupies the undi-
vided attention of his class. A great saving of time is the
consequence. In English public schools (at least it was so in
my school days), the boys are congregated together in large
class rooms, where they sit witb books before them till they
arc successively called up. This is a sad waste of time, as it
is impossible for any master to say whether the boys are pro-
fftably employed while thus left to themselves,_ putt 4.. t. the