The Sun.
London, England, 1866-11-09 00:00:00

HIGII WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

Tills DAY.—Morning, 3h. 2m.—Afternoon, 3h. 20m.
ra-Mounow.-319naing, 31i. 35m.—Afternoon, 34. 50m.

2, cb
-

LONDON, FRIDAY, NOV. 9, 1866.

Mr. BRIGHT makes so many charges and com-
ments on things and persons in so unguarded a
manner that it is hard work to follow him, and to
study the replies and indignant rejoinders be natu-
rally meets with in all directions. The Bishop of
OXFORD has been the last to come forward and re-
pudiate his statements. It will be remembered that,
in his speech at Glasgow, Mr. BRIGHT became
very excited upon the subject of education, and
connecting it, as he does everything unsatis-
factory, with the vices and follies of the upper
classes, he gave a dreadful account of the ignorance
that prevailed in the neighbourhood of Windsor,
and he filled up his sketch of this " helpless poverty
and ignorance" in so emphatic a manner that cries
of " Shame" were heard among his audience. Now
this is a most unfair thing on Mr. BRIGHT S part.
lie takes one-sided views of things in some cases ;
he dresses up or exaggerates facts in others ; and in
some, as in this matter here alluded to, he makes
erroneous statements ; but in every instance he has
all the talk to himself—there can be no reply
at the time, and thus the full effect of his elo-
quence is not marred when he wants to
come out with great eclat. Those who hear the
assertion do not hear the contradiction, or if they
do pay very little heed to it ; but what Mr. BRIGHT
gains in making a grand coup at the time, he loses
subsequently in the estimation of lovers of justice
and fair play. We are always glad when any one
will take the trouble to investigate his most striking
statements, and show the fallacy of those views and

the incompleteness of those conclusions in
which he is constantly rising up in judgment
against all who have the misfortune to be titled
or wealthy. The Bishop of OXFORD states that
he wrote to %Lr. BRIGHT to ask for information
about his declarations, as the scene of this ignorance
was in his diocese, and he did so in order to learn
if the alleged ignorance existed, and, if so, whether
it was attributable to any neglect of the labourer,
or at " Windsor Castle," or by the " swarming lords
and squires and established clergy," or in any way
to the " miserable failure of the ruling class which
revels in power and wealth, while at its feet lies a
multitude which it has neglected.'' The result

.—..--.---
of these inquiries has been to show that
INIr. BRIGHT'S statement was accurate as
wtohifeahcthse,
but completely wrong as to the deduction
drew from them. The cause of the gross ignorance
to which Mr. BRIGHT alluded is not to be attribut-
able to the fault of the lords, squires, and Esta-
blished clergy who spoil the neighbourhood, in Mr.
BRlcarr's opinion, but to the fault of the parents.
Fourteen years ago the father of this hopeful tribe
came to live within fifty yards of the Ascot Heath
School, and his ways were good, but nothing could
induce him to make his children attend school.
They were not left to themselves, however, and
repeated efforts were made from time to time. The
deputy-surveyor of the Woods and Forests, under
whom he was employed, warned him that he would
be dismissed from the service of the Crown, and he
was eventually dismissed for persisting in neglecting
his children's education. Since then the efforts of
Mr. PEARSE to make him attend to his younger
children have been as unsuccessful as those of his
predecessors to serve his elder ones.
What becomes, then, of Mr. BRIGHT'S reproach
that a family of eleven children have had no in-
struction in the least degree. Who can help such
a thing, much as it is to be regretted, when the
father is so obtuse and perverted in his judgment.
Mr. PnAiNE mentions two facts which are worthy
of notice—first, that the church and school on the
heath have been erected on land given by the
Crown, and also that they are mainly supported by
the " lords, squires, and Established clergy who
swarm in the neighbourhood." No one can deny
the great advantages that accrue from instruction,
but they may be purchased at too dear a cost, and
the foreign practice of compelling parents to
educate their children will not suit our ideas, or be
suffered to prevail in this country. So far as we
can form any judgment in the matter, it would seem
as if Mr. BRIGHT had exposed a glaring instance of
error in one of the lower classes, and not one at all to
implicate the higher ranks ; he has shown that in his
effort to make out the lords and squires to blame
he has not given himself time to find out
who was really in error, and thus drawn a
moral as to the harm done by refusing
the benefits of education. We generally find,
however, that in a case of this sort it is easier to
begin taunts and recriminations than to end them ;
and accordingly Mr. SMITH, Mr. BRIGHT'S infor-
mant, has thought fit to come forward, and in a
very unnecessary manner to revive the " vexed
question" in all its enormity. It seems that Mr.
SMITH wrote a letter to the Bishop of OXFORD, in
explanation of the statement he had made to Mr.
BRIGHT, and appears to be virtually indignant that
the Bishop should have published the letter he re-
ceived from Mr. PEARSE, the clergyman of Ascot,
and not his own also. In consequence Mr. SMITH
has written to the Times to expose his wrongs, and
has also sent a copy of his letter to the Bishop.
It is a pity that some friend or adviser should not
have counselled him against so unwise a proceeding ;
but, we suppose, vexation at finding his anecdote to
Mr. BRIGHT so ineffective, however accurate it has
turned out to be, has made him wander from his
subject, for he touches on things that have no
connection with the matter in hand. The Prus-
sian system of education is most favourably con-
trasted with that of England, and we meet
most inflated remarks, such as these, for instance :
The Prussian Government have established a na-
tional system of education, and, in order to test its
results they have made inquiries, and ascertained
that only one man out of every two hundred and
fifty cannot read or write. "It was the needle-gun
in the hands of these intelligent men who formed an
army such as the world never before saw, that
enabled a little kiligdum in a fortnight to overthrow
one of the greatest empires in Europe." Is it pos-
sible to peruse a more exaggerated account of the
campaign ? and is this the grand scheme which Mr.
BRIGHT and his friends had in the back-ground
all this time ? Are we to remodel ourselves after
the Prussian fashion.
Mr. SMITH thinks that there is " sufficient spirit
and intelligence in his countrymen to work such a
change in the ruling class as will result in the educa-
tion of the whole people, without which he believes
the decadence of our country is inevitable." We
can assure Mr. SMITH that there is a great
deal too much spirit, and a great deal too much
intelligence in the country ever to allow the people
to copy the manners of foreign States, and exchange
all real freedom for their shadow without substance.
The " intelligent men" referred to in Prussia have
not been able to protect their own liberties, or
to possess a Government which respects the
rights of others ; and we are not ambitious of their
glory, nor do we desire to make them all prototypes.
Mr. SMITH, however, is determined that every one
shall understand the full extent of the evil, and
declares that the ruling class is to blame for the ig-
norance of the people. Wbo are they ? he asks,
and then he answers his own question, " Why
there can be no doubt about that. They are the
same class who enacted and maintained the wicked
Corn Laws, and who even in the last Session of
Parliament passed this no less wicked Cattle Plague
Bill—the landowners." . Such language defeats
itself, and shows how
people
they get a crotchet into the
ir
hcaenadsb.e mmisrl.e
SMITH'S
dmwiThiefns
letters do him no credit, and have only made his
case out worse than it was originally. Every one
may make a mistake, but they need not persist in
abuse that has no foundation for its violence.

The full report of Lord NAPIER'S experiences
during his late tour in the famine districts of India
will be read with very great interest in this country.
His lordship deals with the subject in the most com-
prehensive manner, showing us the habits and pecu-
liarities of different classes who suffer from the
famine, and the manner and degree in which it
presses upon each. Lord NAPIER examines first into
the extent and :severity of the famine. Secondly,
he records the remedial measures adopted bythe Go-
he inquires into the causes
ov
fe Go-
vernment;
at
possibility of averting such
catastresoncphec and,
ndfyo and
thirdly,
the
the future. The famine is fortu-
nately confined within a limited area, but India is
so thickly peopled that it has played terrible havoc
notwithstanding. The area in Ganjaur may con-
tain, Lord NAPIER estimates, about 250,000 inha-
bitants ; but the portion in which the scarcity has
risen to the pitch of starvation does not embrace
more than 120,000. The greater part of the afflicted
district belongs to Zemindary estates, with which
the Government has no direct relation. The popu-
lation may be divided into four classes :-1. The
ryots; 2. The coolies; 3. The vagrants; 4. The
small traders and mechanics in the towns. Of these
the ryots, according to Lord NAPIER'S account, are
both the most deserving and the greatest sufferers.
They are prevented by the restrictions of their caste
from crowding the relief houses like the lower orders,
and the necessities of their occupation as cultivators
of the soil prevent them from removing like others
from place to place.
country nmeh the samerrrhaenrYk ot occupies in his own
as an English farmer,
and values his social position very highly. With
true Hiudoo patience and dignity these men and their
families have suffered the gradual approach of ruin
and famine combined until, during Lord NAPIER's
tour, they were suffering from the horrors of star-
vation in its several degrees. " There can be no