The Sun.
London, England, 1859-09-03 00:00:00

TfIE
CORPORAL PUNISHMENT AT
KING'S SCHOOL, CANTEI?BUI?Y.

-4,--
A case of considerable interest to the friends of
children at public schools has just occurred at the
King's. School at Canterbury, 'in reference to the
introduction, by the recently-appointed head-master!
the Rev. J. Mitchinson, of a system of corporal
punishment,‘. to be publicly inflicled on the boys.
.Ihe circumstances appear to be as follows :--
Lie.utenant Vousden, Q.M. of the 4th Depot Bat-
talion, now stationed in thy Canterbury BarFacks,
in the
some 18 months since placed his only son
King's School, under the superintendence of the
Rev. George Wallace, the then head-master
institution. of the -
Mr. Wallace has sisce resigned-
the appointment, and the present head-master has
been in charge of the school rather over
month.. On Thursday, the 25th ult., Lieutenant
Ai ousden sent a note to the Rev. J. Mitchinson,
requesting that his son might leave the school et
11.30 for the day. No answer was returned ; but the
head-master told the youth that, as he so recently,
had leave, he could not allow him to go then, alr
the boy imagining that he meant during We
morning's duties, lie left school at the usual hour,
and on reaching home found a message that he was
to follow his father who had gone to Canterbu.l.l
races. This request he accordingly complied NOW'
was called before the head-master, and,
For so doing, the next morning Master
the Pre;
Vousden
in
sence of the assembled school was told that he WI
been guilty of a direct act of disobedience,
,fl.s
which he must be flogged at half-past four. 111,_8
was communicated to Lieutenant Vousden by LU,,
son, and the following correspondence be'

ensued :
FROM LIEUTENANT VOUSDEN TO THE BEV'
J. MITCHINSON.
Rev. J. 'Mitchinson, and begs to state that his
Mr. Vousden presents his compliments to the
th
was absent from school yesterday afternoon Wl%;
his leave and approbation, and therefore request:
that no punishment may be inflicted on account el
such absence.
" Barracks, Canterbury, Aug. 26." .ANT
FROM THE REV. J. MITCHINSON TO LIEUTENANT
VOUSDEN.
" The King's School, Aug. 2on.
i
" My dear Sir,—Your note has caused me
as
embarrassment. I was glad to find
before imagined, that your son was not alone respell"
sible for his deliberate disobedience to my any
otherwise I should have declined to receive him
more as a pupil. I write these few lines now to state
to you most distinctly that your son must either
submit to the punishment I have publicly prescribsd
for him ; or, if you object to that, that he musteea_e.
to be a pupil of the King's School from this aftetle
noon. I must beg the favour of an humeditio
answer ; and if I do not hear from you Shoe
course open to me but to inflict the puni"
I am, dear sir, faithfully yours, orders,
Cl J MITCHINSON."
FROM LIEUTENANT VOUSDEN TO THE REV. I.
MITCHINSON.
My dear Sir,—ln reply, to your note just receic.eii:
I much regret that I cannot sanction the Pilnis_o
Barracks, Aug. 26' a
ment you have thought necessary for nflict on 70
son, he having had my leave and appobation N... 1
absent from school. I wrote to you in the ner;
manner to obtain your sanction, and I am le the
believe that you only objected to his leaving
school during the morning study, with a:o.i
reference to the afternoon. I venture to suggva—
that I was justified in looking for an a
request in the same manner that it was rode' the
you any reason to withhold your sanction te
indulgence asked for. Should you therefore Ever
feel obliged to enforce the punishment, heNve,.:v
much I regret it, I must say that you must car
out your threat, and expel the boy from the se no
as I cannot sanction his being punished from
fault of his own.—l am, dear sir f• , ait
hi. iv
4i THOS, VOUSDE'''ra
_ FROM THE REV. J. MITCHINSON TO LIEUTVCA
'ISNOT tog

VOUSDEN. 26.
" The King's School, Canterbury, Aug -ear
a
My dear Sir,—l was very sorry to receive 'tip,
note this afternoon, as it left me no alternoot
but to inflict what, considered in itself, i 8 ag.,lllncet
disproportionate punishment to your boy's °:t an
but what was inevitable, or m authority will -thig.
end. You, as an officer, will thoroughly fee' nor
did not, for
Allow me, however, to observe that I
should I have thought of, punishing the b°,,Yider
the faults of others, however great I might 0,11-,,st.
them to be. I punished him for deliberatel the
ting at nought my distinct refusal to grant hireecen
holiday—a refusal of which you were not biro
conscious (it appears) when you left word far of
to follow you, or I feel quite sure the brep
discipline would never have taken
offence was wilful disobedience and defiant® °f• ng
seri° To
orders. It was a schoolboy's offence-0.
one ; but one for which the cane was an thmkr
punishment, had it not been for your, I tuns'
unfortunate interference with the course °•nzillit
discipline. I regret that you should have th°,,-:se
my not replying formally to your note in anY4iitisee
a discourtesy. I think, on reflection, you the
that such a course would be incompatible wl4,`,.niy,
duties of a head-master. In conclusion, lam sly
genuinely sorry for the boy, who owes his P.ll",ase,
ment (a most severe one) to his friends in 011,9 vg" hop
and not to himsel.f I lose in him a 1311P'' whet
place.
though troublesome enough at times and Vele -
f
restless under authority, showed the germs too
good, open, manly disposition. Though his:deParia
from the school is indispensable and irrevocab hatil
do not in any sense regard it as expulsion, nor
I lose any opportunity of removing such
it `vets
pression from others, or of preventing (if it;fi
likely at any time) its injuring his prospects '1-
.—I am, dear sir, faithfully yours,
m N."
J. iTcglNso
sing
Lieut. Vousden sent a further letter, eXPr.eS
regret that Mr. Mitchinson did not answer his ild;ng
to which want of courtesy the misunderstand 105,
was attributable, and stating that ho shgtennter.
the correspondence before the Dean and re'
This Lieut. Vousden accordingly did, at'
ceived the following answer : 0. 9'
" The Deanery, Canterbury Monday, pace
"My dear Sir,—l have laid' the correspell-;aeo
which you sent me before my resident e°,lletlinief
in the chapter, and I beg to inform yen,t,l,inson
agree with me in thinking that Mr. Nl",,e:tnolic,
was entirely justified in the course which
in the matter. With regard to the publicatiollas o
the correspondence, I must leave you to ae
think mast desirable.—l am, my dear sir, fs' fully
yours, " HENRY ALFORD, ,
Dean of CanterbilrY.

--__._.__.-
THE FATAL STEAMBOAT EXPI' Olt

ON THE TYNE.

coroner for South
Mr. Reed, theland,
concluded a long inquiry at North °lf the
on Thursday
night, into the circumstances o
and
Mary explosion
of one of the boilers of the Williaaillob,
ry
steam-tug on Friday • afternoon, hi w.„00
John Cockburn, the fireman of that vessel,
before
blown into the river Tyne and drowned. As eel-
reported in The Sun, a new company hale and)3
menced to run passage Steamers on that river, __
Northuru.ohjasel:
of course the old steamboat men are hostile 0 thew,
and offer them all kinds of opposition and aniurili
ante. On Friday afternoon the William and ,off
had
started off with the Louise Crawshay, a nig.
boat belonging to the new company, from Nevicbut
tle Quay, and attempted to race against her,
~.
while half-way between Newcastle and Shields.4s
boiler of- the William and Mary burst and boatkill
Cockburn, the other two men, the crew of the
into escaping
the leaping
Tbyyne.
woovse r
ptrhoev
inquest that the average speed of the Wilhol
and Mary is from six to seven miles an hour, ',.0
that of the Louise Crawshay from 11 to 12 milpes:ii.
setde ri
nn
evidence tlie
at steamero
hour ; and to put a pressure on the boilers 01 ;10
William and Mary her crew had placed some euier,
of chain and some iron upon the safety-v(11r 1111101
their control. The Government safety' valve • ht
been also previously tampered with, and the
?grail.
had been so jammed that it would not to,' a than
As there was no vent there, and, as moron1' the
double the proper pressure was placed they
lever under the charge of the men, and as
thei' to
thehav
have
s been a t
tbhaadt
tpkhrneeos
fired the boat heavily, an explosion aPPearsptor
have been inevitable. The Government iTisPe- of
wGs
pressure
e rhni sm
was clearly of opinion that if the eugitleern 0
master of it
was
underG the coonftrotlheof
that working,
nm oimproper
vulva
bthoaet
boatmen. bell,
ta;
tile
was placed on the
noel
enhtusvinaelsyse bNevos,,, -janof
the deceased eceastehde master,
edjury,engineman of the boat, made a statement ae—erea
resory, . and James Caralwe':„sin(
man, Cockburn, of having tarasure.
the safety valves and put on and Pre°tieo,
Th
through however, after a short consultaii of
gh their foreman, said that they were a.,, ,a
one opinion—that the explosion had been oecaso;oa
Uamphell, t 1 that their verdict
by_ the ignorance and recklessness of Gregolt'itiley
wasp tha,_burn•
were guilty of the manslaughter of John Coeat apa
The coroner quite concurred in their verdie ,_,ost
hoped that it would be a warning to the stealaw_vi,
t in nt'bi
men of the Tyne, whose reckless conduer
gating the boats had been much complained 01
the public. Campbell and Gregory were, ie:91110a
diately taken into custody by the river peltefriano.
wAsesriezecslipnoiti
he
coronevarranttld for trial at the
arrant,
Aits
but al.:o' _,„i
Council in the Stock Exchange yesterday,
• We suni at r-
No further loans were effected by the In"-„,ro
understood to have placed out a considera
cent, in other quarters.