The Sun.
London, England, 1861-10-16 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, :WEDNESDAY S 04/ENING, OCTOBER 16, 1861.

flourish, can really be the great Lord PALMERSTON,
the statesman of European reputation, the arbiter
of the destinies of England, and in a great measure
also of all Christendom, seems to the wondering
stranger, looks to him, sounds to him, all but in-
credible. And yet, all the while, there is not a
man who is there listening to Lord PALMERSTON,
even upon these ordinary occasions when his speech
but seldom, as we have here intimated, rises above
the dead level of the commonly conversational,
who does not listen to that confused utterance—
who does not watch those inelegant waivings
of the gloved hand with the liveliest in-
terest. And this Because—well, Sir ROBERT
PEEL gave the reason long ago in half a dozen happy
words, " Because we are all proud of him !" For
throughout his long public life, now of more than
half-a•century's duration, we have all seen in him,
as Earl RUSSELL, when he was Lord JOHN, ex-
pressed the fact years since upon a memorable oc-
casion—" Not the Minister of Russia, not the Minis-
ter of France, not the Minister of Austria, but the
Minister of England."
Yet, apart from his well-earned fame in states-
manship, Lord PALMERSTON can admirably well vin-
dicate whenever he so pleases his undoubtedly fair
claim to popular admiration even as an orator. One
of the happiest speeches delivered in the House of
Commons of late years was that renowned
oration in which he triumphed over what
may be almost termed, without any ex-
aggeration, a formidable conspiracy of malig-
nant antagonists. But, out of the House, too, upon
rare occasions, Lord PALMERSTON can at pleasure
(as he has but very recently availed himself of a
passing opportunity to remind us), with a careless
ease that is itself delightful, vie even with the most
skilled and practised rhetoricians. Friday last,
the 11th instant, was the date we are here referring
to, as the one upon which the Prime Minister gave
this latest evidence of (really we may call it with-
out extravagance) his consummate adroitness in
speaking upon any given subject directly to the
point. The occasion was no other than the distri-
bution of certificates to the successful candidates in
the recent Oxford Middle-class Examinations—a
distribution which took place on Friday afternoon
in the Carlton-rooms at Southampton. Lord PAL-
MERSTON having kindly consented to distribute
these certificates to the successful candidates, availed
himself of the opportunity to undertake the
vindication of the cause of competitive examinations.
Regarding as we do the enthusiastic confidence ex-
pressed by many in the universal efficacy of this
newly-inaugurated system of competitive examina-
tions, as partaking very much, indeed, of
the nature of what Mr. COBDEN is fond
of designating emphatically a craze, we cannot
at the same time do otherwise than admit that
everything that could be said in favour of compe-
titive examinations has been more happily expressed
now by Lox d PALMERSTON than anyone among the
champions of that system had ever previously
succeeded in expressing it. Nothing could possibly
be better put than the following argument of Lord
PALMERSON'S, where he said :—" Let nobody run
away with the notion aat competitive examina-
tions are not of great and infinite value, because
there are men who instruct the candidates in those
branches of knowledge respecting which the
examinations have to take place." Adding,
"Depend upon it that the boy who is crammed,
if ho is "crammed successfully, not only may
succeed in the examination for which he is
preparing, but is from that time forward more in-
tellectual, better informed, and more disposed to
push further the knowledge which by that cram-
ming he has acquired." Again, the Premier re-
marked with much force immediately afterwards :
—" It is also said that you are teaching young men
a great variety of things which will be of no use to
them in the career which they are destined to pur-
sue, and that you are pandering to their vanity by
making them believe they are wiser than they
really are. These objections, also, are in my opinion
utterly futile. As to vanity and conceit, those are
most vain and conceited who know the least. '
The more a man knows, the more he acquires a
conviction of the extent of that which he does not
know. A man ought to know a great deal to
acquire a knowledge of the immensity of his
ignorance." Surely, an admirable aphorism that
last ! But one, the truth of which Lord PALMER-
I STON enforces instantly with a delectable and tell-
ing anecdote. " There was," he says, " a very sharp,
shrewd gentleman, well-known in former times,
named Mr. HARVEY COOMBE, He was convers-
ing one day with a friend, of whose attain-
ments he had no very high opinion, and having
made some observation, his friend said, ' Well, I
am sure, I don't know.' You don't know !'
said Mr. HARVEY COOMBE, I tell you what,
my friend, what you don't know would make a very
large, book.' The same," adds Lord PALMERSTON,
"may be said of the great mass of mankind; and
let no parent be deterred from sending his son for
competitive examination by the notion that he
would get much beyond the titlepage of that great
book !" Admirable 1 If Lord PALMERSTON had
uttered nothing more than this on Friday last at
Southampton he would have done well towards
furthering the cause of competitive examinations.
But the whole speech is excellent. It is a speech
worthy of our Premier; and one that we would
heartily commend to the consideration of the
Youth of the Nation.

It will be observed that the telegram which
announced -the surprise of the veteran General
WOOL at Fort Monroe; has not been confirmed. It
seemed difficult to conceive how such a man, in a
strong fort, could be surprised, and now, all we
learn is that he has gone to Washington to consult
with the authorities there on the general manage-
ment of the war. The latest news from Father
Point, is that within the next two days, that is by
the Bth at latest, a battle would be fought on the
Potomac. Of course there is nothing to pre-
vent its beineg done at any time. It must
apparently be
a second attack by the
North on thQ South, since the Confederates
appear to have withdrawn intentionally to their old
strong positions, the scene of their former triumphs.
It may be expected that the encounter will be
a fierce one between the Southerns, with all the ad-
vantages of their new chosen position, and the
Northerns much better provided with artillery and
ammunition. Military skill is probably equal.
The Southern army seems to be much weakened
by sickness, 12,000 patients, according to Southern
reports, being in the Richmond Hospitals. When
the Federals advanced to Munson's Hill they
found the encampments in a most filthy and un-
wholsome state.

From the West the information is somewhat ob-
scure. It would seem that the recall and trial of
General FREmoNT by a court-martial had been so
generally talked of, that Mr. SEWARD telegraphed
to the General that he " was not ordered to Wash-
ington, and that no court-martial had been ordered
on him." Lexington is said to have been again occu-
pied by Federal troops; but this statement, and
those also respecting the movements of the Confe-
derate and Federal commanders in Missouri, rest
on no trustworthy military authority. To us it
appears as if the roving, ill-armed, large bodies of