The Sun.
London, England, 1857-09-26 00:00:00

LORD J. IWSSELL AT SHEFFIELD. !

Lord and Lady John Russell, with three of their
children, arrived in Sheffield on Thursday evening,
his Lordship having accepted an invitation to pre-
side at the annual meeting of the ragged school on
the following day.
The noble lord met with a very hearty reception.
The Town-Council met yesterday at 11 to present
an address, voted at a special meeting on Monday,
to Lord J. Russell. Before his lordship's arrival
the Mayor addressed the Council, stating that he
had received from Earl Granville, now in atten-
dance on her Majesty at Balmoral, a reply stating
that her Majesty graciously consented to receive a
deputation of the Town-Council to present an ad-
dress on the occasion of her visit to Fiarl Fitzwil-
Lam at Wentworth-house.
It was theu resolved, on the motion of Alderman
F. floole, that a loyal address be also presented on
the same occasion to his Royal Highness the Prince
Consort.

St,ordy before half-past 11 Lord and Lady John
Russell arrived at the Council-hall, and were re-
ceived with much cheering. On their appearance
upon the bench of the aldermen the cheers were
ion ily renewed.
The Town-Clerk then read an address welcoming
Lord J. Russell's first visit to Sheffield.

Lord J. RUSSELL (loud cheers)—Mr. Mayor, I
Hunk you and the members of the corporation for
the kindness which has prompted the hearty wel-
come that you have given me on my visit to the
borough of Sheffield. You may be confident that
I shalt continue to be the advocate of civil and re-
ligious freedom, of social progress, extended educa-
tion, and constitutional reform. The spirit of the
age, the union of statesmen favourable to progress,
and tho enlightened opinion of the people have
enabled me, among others, to carry to a suc-
cessful issue many important measures. The
twenty years from 1828 to 1848, beginning with
tha repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts and
ending with the repeal- of the Navigation Act,
were remarkable for progress without revolution,
while in the last of the years I have mentioned
we bad in many continental States revolution
without progress. Let us hope that in the future
we may witness the same spirit of improvement ac-
co,npanied with the same reverence for institutions
under whose shade the nation.has enjoyed so large
an amount of liberty and happiness. It is impos-
siole to abstract our minds from the events which
have recently afflicted our Indian empire. A revolt
of the most treacherous character,- accompanied by
retarders of the most savage atrocity, has filled us
with horror and indignation. Yet amid these ter-
rible scenes it is permitted to us to hope that if, in
restoring our dominion, energy is combined with a
deliberate plan of action—if the sword of Justice
is not separated fro :n her balance—if in providing
for the future government of India we can. recon-
cile our duties as Christians with the most entire
r ligious liberty, and a benevolent rule with the
m assertion of power, we may -preserve to Great
Britain and to civilisation a fairer Quid more secure
empire than we have hitherto possessed. Gentle-
men, I beg to wish you and the town you repre•
sent a continuance of your present prosperity.
His lordship and Lady Russell then left to at-
end the annual meeting of the ragged schools.
MEETING OF THE RAGGED SCHOOLS.

The meeting was held in the Music hall. Lord
J. Russell presided, supported by Lord Wharn-
c'iffe' the Hon. F. S. Wortley, the Mtyor of Shef-
fi •Id (Mr. Pye Smith), Aldermen Dunn, Holle
Vickers, and Roloou ; Revs. T. Sale, D.D. (vicar),
J. Manners, W. Mercer, J. F. Whitty, C. Collier,
C. La,rom, and J. P. Paton ; Messrs T. B. Holy,
W. P. Milner, C. C tmmell, F. Newton, and others.
The proceedings having opened with prayer,
Mr. ELLIS, the secretary, read a report, from
which it appeared that since the establishment of
this institution about 1,690 destitute children had
bAm instruoted in it ; that the managers possessed
evidence that the schools had been a great blessing
to m tiny of those children; that some had been res-
cued from prison, from beggary, and from wicked
companions, and are now growing up as useful
'members of society—earning a honest livelihood.
Lord WHARNCLIFFE moved the adoption of the
report, and expressed the pleasure it afforded him
to see gentlemen of not only his own but all
other religious bodies in the town, except the
the Roman Catholics, assembled to join in promo-
ting education among the poorer classes of the com-
munity, and rescuing the young of this town from
lives of infamy. (Cheers.)
The Rev. T. SALE, D. D. , seconded the resolution,
and urged the necessity of caution in confining the
charity to the really destitute, otherwise it might
bowlike a serious injury rather than benefit, by
undermining the independence of those who were
able to pay for the education of their children.
L rd J. ItussELL, was received with loud cheers.
He s tid,—Before I put this resolution to the meet-
i n cy, and the collection take -3 place which is to follow
thereupon, I bag leave to a tdress a few observa-
tions to you upon this and other institutions of a

similer kind. i have had great pleasure in accept-
ing the invitation which was given to me by Alder-
man bole to come here to preside at this meeting.
I accepted the invitation because I think it is of
very great importance that in our large towns
means such as and similar to these should be
a l'opted for the purpose of promoting our progress
in "social and religious knowledge. It may be said
with regard to a country parish that there are per-
sons who are by their fortune and property bound,
while others are by law bound and entitled, to con-
sider all the concerns of that parish ; to take into
their view those who are destitute, as'well as those
competent to maintain themselves,•and thus to see
that education is given to all, as well as the means
of sustaining life. But when we come to the large
towns—end I would now more especially revert to
the great metropolis of this country=we find that
the employments are so diversified, and the em-
playeis frequently in such a position of isolation
float the poorer classes, that there comes to he
almost a cenina unity, I would call it, of young and
poor persons, who run the utmost danger of becom-
ing criminale, and thus of losing all theirhopes of well
doing in this world and of salvation in the next. It is
to) apparent that many of those classes alluded to in
the report—persons who have lostboth their parents,
and whose other relatior s are, perhaps, living at a
great distance ; those whose parents have been sent
to prison for criminal offences ; and many of those
ono of whose parents has deserted them, and the
other is unable to support tl e n—there are among
CraSSO3 of this kind many young persons who wan-
der about the streets exposed to every temptation,
and who are thus liable to fall into vice, and be the
posts of the country in which they reside. T re-
member seeing in the gaol, at Newgate, two young
boys who bad been committed for some small offence
of larceny. One of them, when-questioned as to
how he maintained himself in food and lodging, said
he went into the streets and held gentlemen's horses,
or did any odd job which any one would give him, •
and thus procured twopence for his bed and the
money requisite to buy food. But upon being
asked how he did in the chance of not obtaining
sufficient in that way, he replied, " I get it as I
can," We naturally conclude that this " getting;
it as I can " was none other than pilfering the pro-
perty of others, which he found in the streets
'where his wanderings took him. It is very easy to
lament this state of things—it is still more ea iy t
blame the persons who commit these offences. But
I really do think it is the duty of society not only
to lament and blame, but also to endeavour to•
remedy the evil. It is a reproach to a Christian.
nation that there should be boys and girls running.
about who have no means of sustenance, no one to
teaclr them theirduty to God and their neighbours,,
and without the means of any honest employment
by which to earn their bread. Then there comes
the queStion—a vast and mighty question, upota
whicn men of the greatest intellect in former times
and in tha present times have employed their un4
derstandings, endeavouring to promote measures
which they thought conducive to the good end—
!lamely, the q nest ion whether by any system of poor
ITior any of national educatien we could provide
timituraiee,eracsalsees. . Hitherto.there have been fount
eporactical objections to any sufficient or
satisfactory
particular rettlir7e: Of t ourse Ido not advert to a 'y
tionr, but all men agree that there
must be a limit to the .
a,,iralassista.nce given by the State in
that respect. If,
ducaatitoonok at tie question of a
national system e
d iforaces prevail,
and,
anon,,'w ectiltiniedr the utmost
that which is perhaps the foretnogi-, the r gnicoeu
,
difficulty of indadng persons of various denomina-
tions of Christians o agree, in the first place who-
tiler religious instruction should be given at all, and
in the nest, to what extent that instruction thouict
Lo given. For my part, I cannot say than, I reAthe
&was which many have felt upon this subject. In
my own-mind I certainly have coma to the conel
Hien that the religious part of man) as I may say---
tha4 that faculty which induces us to seek religious
cmsZdon, and which I believe is part of onr
n a-
tnro, perhai s the bestpartofit, cannot be neglected
in any system of education And likewisa; although
we have not hitherto come to an agreement upon
y
the subjeet—although our differences are still s)
w de that there are no means of adopting a measure
which will be generally satisfactory, my belief, is
tbat if such rev. gentlemen as the ono who has just
spoken, and those who have charge of the education
of young children, would attend mere to religion
and less totheelogy—if they would teachthat which
is really the religious sentiment, and leave the dif-
ferences of creed to be afterwards explained by the
tuinietera of tho different denominations when the
children are of riper age to understand those differ-
oaces—T believe if the attempt was made really to
found education upon the cultivation of the religi-
ous sentiment, upon a belief in the Being who is