The Sun.
London, England, 1835-10-22 00:00:00

Yesterday the font ation stone of the city of London
New School, was laid by •
2.ord Brougham. The site of .
the building is in Honey-lane Market, Cheapside. A
committee was appointed to carry the plan into effect„
and the arrangements for affording aceemmodation were
very complete. The great interest in the .business, how-
ever, was, that it was understood that Lora Brougham
had consented to lay the foundation stone. ei.le tempo-
rary entrance to the site of the intended building .was
tastefully covered in and decorated with flags, and the.
square was occupied with galleries conveniently fitted
up for the accommodation of those who had cards of
admission. .
Shortly after two o'clock, Lord Brougham- "" was. ushered.
in by the gentlemen of the Committee, beartffi -their wand
of office. ' , His Lordship, who had been much cheered out-
side, had aismost cordial reception ; he was cheered from
al! quarters of the place. Among the company present we-
notice'! Mr. Grote, M. P.; Mr. Patteson, M. P.; Mr.
Crawford, M.P.; Mr. Williams, M.P.; Sir James Shaw,
the City Chamberlain ; the City Recorder, the City Roe
membrancer, the City Solicitor, the Town Clerks Sheriffs
Salomons and Laitison, and the late Sheriff Illidge ; Un-.
der Sheriff C. Pearson, Aldermen Wilson, Cowan, Thorpe,
and Sir P. Laurie ; Dr. Biekbeek, the Rev.- Alexander.
Fletcher, the Rev. H. G. Watkins, the Rev. Mr. O'Brien,
the Rev. Thomas Rennie, the Rev. W. C. Woodbridge,
editor of the work entitled the "Annals of Education,"
from the City of Boston, in the United States ; and nearly
the whole Members of the Common Council.
The stone, which weighed about seven tons, was sus-
l; ended from an apparatus made for the purpose. A glass
ease, hermetically sealed, contained a copy of the plan of
the budding, and other documents. A strong brass case,
with glass on each side, contained one each of all the cur-
rent coins of the realm, placed in positions so as to exhibit
both sides of ti:e coin. A large massive brass plate con-
tained, the followfv,g inscriptiou :
The first stone of the
Gulielmo IV. Rege.
City of London School, established by
the Corporation of i.oodon, under the authority of an Act
of Parliament, of the foucth and fifth years of the reign of
King William the Fourth, .chap XXXV.,
Was laid by
The Right Honourable HENRI' Lord BROUGHAM and VAUX,
on Wednesday, the twenty-first d.esT of October, 1835,
In the presence pf
Warren Stormes Hail, Esq., Chairman,
And the Members of the Committee appointed by fie Court
to carry the said Act into exeem:ion.
In addition to which were the 'names of 52 gentlemen
leiio constituted the Committee.
A Over trowel, with an appropriate inscriptons having
been presented to Lord Brougham,
His Leseosme said he bad great satisfaction ,in being
present on that interesting occasion. He should always be
happy to render his assistance to such a good and charitable
object. He trusted the school would be as useful to the
city, as it wee creditable to those who originated it. Hie
Lordship having performed the usual ceremonies, was about
to retire, when
Sir P. LAURIE requested to say a few words.
namely, that I felt much Lord BROUGHAM—I Nave only to repeat what I stated
to the Committee in privates
sa-
tisfaction in contributing to the foundation of this great,
and I trust, useful establishmeNt —which does infinite ho-
nour to this great city, and to the' Corporation, in parti-
cular. His Lordship then retired, but there appeared a
general feeling of disappointment that .a longer oration had
not been delivered.
THE DINNER.
In the evening the great event was celA rated by a din-
ner at the city of London Tavern, where about two hun-
dred of the most distinguished friends of the education of
people
the
aesembled.
Mr. HALE took the chair, and on his right sat Lord
13rougham, Dr. Birkbcck, Messrs. Grote, Crawlerd, and
Pa;Jeson, the City Representatives. Alderman Wood was
absent, we are certain not without a sufficient cause. On
gat Aldermen Thorpe, Cowan, Wilson,
the Recorder, and several other
tahnedlesfitr opt. tebteer Clraiurrits,
Members of the Corporation. The Sheriffs sat one at each
end of the table.
After the usual toasts—
st to propose, which they
The CHAIRMAN had a toe:
would all delight to honour. lelrd Brougham directed all
the powers of his mighty mind to the promotion of the
people's happiness—(Applause)—feet they, probably, did
not know how much the Institution the t day founded was
indebted to his valuable assistance.—( great applause.)
They were aware that the estate which forts-led an endow-
ment of the schools that day founded was left by. the will
of a respectable citizen, of the name of Carpenter, in
in 1438, at which time it produced but 191. IVs. a year.
Mr. Carpenter, he might mention, was the Town Clerk of
the City of London ; had several times represernted the
City in Parliament, and was executor of the celebrated
Whittington. He left the estate at its then value to the
Corporation, for the education of four boys—the estate
has since increased to 90td. a year ; and when the Corpo-
ration liberally determined to apply the whole amount to
the purpose of the most extended education, by founding
the school of which the first stone was laid to-day, it was
found that an Act of Parliament was necessary ; and it was
also found that there were such difficulties in the way of
passing that Act, that had it not been for Lord Brougham's
exertions, who was then Lord Chaticellor, it was doubtful
whether they could be overcome. He would drink the
beljth of their illustrious guest, Lord Brougham.
The toast was drunk with immense applause.
Lord BROLIC. HAM begged leave to return his grateful and
respectful thanks for the very kind manner in which his
health had been &eels. The Chairman had adverted to
the history of this dimity. Among all the charities of the
kingdom, he did not knos;
7 one of its size—no doubt there
were many larger, but he*O:d not know one of the same
extent likely to produce mote beneficial results .—(Ap-
plause.) When the London University was founded, about
ten years ago—and he was glad to see one of its learned
and able professors then present—his friend, Professor Key
—he wished to speak wholesome truths, though they might
not be the most palatable—(A laugh)--and he always re-
minded his fellow citizens of London' of what he considered
a great blot on their character—that was, that they had
not supported the London University better. There
was no great. pleasure in saying or in healing this ; but
it might answer a useful purpose, because it would be
recollected. —(L md applause.) This brought him to
what he hoped would not be the case of the school
founded that day. As long as he knew London it was
said, what a dreadful thing it is that London should have
no University—that there should be Universities in Oxford,
in Cambridge, and Dublin, and Edinburgh, and none in
London ! Well, exertions were made for founding a Lon-
don University, and to the immortal honour of the city of
London a sufficient sum was raised in a few months for
founding that noble Institution—( A pplause)—the building
was raised soon after ; Professors of the greatest talents and
acquirements were engaged—the immense Halls were ca-
pable of receiving a proportionate number of pupils—the
most costly and beautiful apparatus was provided for teach-
ing every science, and no doubt many availed themselves
of these advantages, and he hoped many more would do
so ; but in some things it must be admitted it was a failure.
He could only account for this in two ways : one was, that
ii,,:, rather thought, his fellow citizens of London were not in
the h,14 of sending their sons to any University ; and
seine of them preferred suding one son to Oxford or Cam-
bridge at a co,.'t of :200/. of 3001. a-year, when for one-
fourth of the sum they migl:t educate four or five in Lon-
don with the unspee.kable acivantage of having them
brought up under their parents' reo.r, at the same time that
they were receiving the best educati.ol;• 'rite second cause
of the partial Where of the London tro.versity he thought
was its distance {ram the City. He had reason to know
that the citizens in that part of the metropolis where they
then were would send their sons in greater nurribers than
those at the other end, but for the distance. That. brought
him to the subject of the day—the new School. It tood
on different grounds from the London University—there was
DO rivalship ; one gave a larger ecineation, the other was
more limited ; but they had one common object—domestic
tuition and public education ; and he entertained the
most sanguine expectations from the admirable insti-
. tution founded that day.—( Hear, hear.) oth insti-
tutions stood on the same grand principle that B
they were
open to all classes—to all religions. _(Great applause.)
There were no tests.—(Applause.) Any man who in this
country, in 1835, would require a test as a qualification
to receive education, would be considered much more fit
for another institution of which this City possesses snore
than one.—( Applause and laughter.) To found a test to
exclude front education—from office—from any secular ad-
vantage—because one person worships God in a manner
differently front another, was not dreamt of ill this insti-
tution.—(Hear, hear.) It roust afford every friend of
human improvement great satisfaction to witness the rapid
strides in liberality that had been made by the 'City of
London in the last two years. Last year he had dined at
the Merchant Tailors' Hall with the the High Sheriffs of
London, the predecessors of the present Sheriffs—he did
not know but they were the Sheriffs at the present time
—Mr. Raphael and his colleague, and on that occasion lie
had heard grace said both before and after meat by a Ro-
man Catholic Priest, the Chaplain of the High Sheriff.
It was gratifying to contemplate the obliteration of preju-
dices which that eiretunstauce exhibited. On that day