The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-24 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONINI THURSDAY EVENING, JANUARY 24, 1861.

REPOBMATORY CONFERENCE AT
BIRMINGHAM.

BIRMINGHAM, WEDNESDAY EVENING.
A conference, arising out of the Reformatory
movement, but chiefly in connection with that
branch of it which Contemplates the education of
is the neglected and destitute children of Great
Britain.," commenced in this town this morning,
under the presidency of the Right Hon. Sir John
Pakington, M.P. The circular under which the
Conference was convened laid down the following
" general principle :"
" The welfare of society requires that all its
members should be educated. Therefore it is the
duty of the State, both as regards society in gene-
ral, and each individual composing it, to provide
education for those who cannot obtain it for them-
selves. This duty is recognised by the State, since
it provides education for those who are in gaols and
reformatories, and therefore come compulsorily
under its care, and for those who are thrown on
society for support—i. e., paupers. The same duty
exists, but has not been discharged by the State,
towards children who are not as yet either crimi-
nals or paupers, but whose natural guardians will
not, or cannot, provide for their education. It is
the object of the Conference to lay before the Ex-
ecutive Government and the Legislature, as a conse-
quence of the principle above stated, the imperative
duty of its providing education for this portion of
the community."
The attendance was numerous, and included the
Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot, Lord Calthorpe,
Lerd Lyttelton, the Earl of Lichfield, Lord Inges-
tre, M.P., Sir Baldwin Leighton, M.P., Mr. W. D.
Hill, Q.C., Mr. Scholefield, M.P., the Hon. and
Rev. G. M. Yorke, the Mayor of Birmingham, Mr.
T. C. S. Kynnersley, the Rev. Dr. Miller, Mr. C.
W. Hoskyns, Mr. Spooner, M.P., Dr. Gathrie, Mr.
It. Hanbury, M.P., Mr. C. H. Bracebridge, Dr.
Bell, Edinburgh ; Mr. G. W. Hastings, Miss Car-
penter, of Bristol ; Mr. C. F. Ramsey, of Aber-
deen ; the Rev. J. T. Burt, Chaplain of the Bir-
mingham Gaol ; Mr. W; Partridge, Police
Magistrate, Wolverhampton ; Mr. Chas. Ratcliff,
Hon. Secretary of the Conference ; the Hon. Major
Anson, Mr. Berwick Baker, Hardwick-court; the
Itev. G. Hans Hamilton, Berwick-upon-Tweed ;
Miss Isa Craig, Mr. R. Baker, Inspector of
Factories ; Dr. Birt Davies, and a large number of
the clergy, as well as other well-known persons
who take an interest in philanthropic labours of
this character in vaiious parts of the country.
The HON. SECRETARY (Mr. Charles Ratcliff) an-
naunced that letters had been received from many
distinguished persons apologising for absence, but
expressive of their cordial concurrence in the move-
ment.
At the commencement of the proceedings prayers
were offered up by the Hon. and Rev. G. M. Yorke,
after which—
Sir J. PAKTNGTON, after a few preliminary ob-
servations, said they were assembled together to
consider what they believed to be a grievance, and
to discuss what was its best remedy. The grievance
was that, out of the large annual sum which was
voted by Parliament to assist in the education of
the poor, those who were the most poor, those who
were the most destitute, those who came under the
care of those institutions which had been founded
by benevolent persons in most of the large towns of
England and Scotland, those who, in fact, peopled
our ragged schools, received nothing—were, in fact,
excluded from that which professed to provide for
them. They would be told by those in authority
that they were not excluded, and that it was open
to them to claim their share ; but he had no doubt
that before the day closed it would be made per-
fectly clear that practically they were excluded ;
that in those respects in which aid was offered, it
was saddled with such conditions as to make it
generally undesirable that that aid should be ac-
cepted. They not only complained of this as a breach
of national duty, but the arrangements of the edu-
cation department had been such that they might
complain of a breach of faith as well as bad policy.
(Hear.) A minute was at one time passed, and for
some time acted upon, by which these ragged schools
were enabled to get their share of the public money
granted for education. But scarcely had they
proved the benefit of this liberality, scarcely had
they begun to make their arrangements, to extend
their buildings, to purchase premises, and to avail
themselves of the grants of money made them under
this minute, than the minute was withdi awn. This
being their grievance, their general principle and
their object were, in the words of their circular
letter,—
" The welfare of society requires that all its
members should be educated; therefore it is the
duty of the State, both as regards society in gene-
ral and each individual composing it, to provide
education for those who cannot obtain it for them-
selves. This duty is recognised by the State, since
it provides education for those who are in gaols and
reformatories, and therefore come compulsorily
under its care, and for those who are thrown on
society for support, i.e., paupers. The same duty
exists, but has not been discharged by the State,
towards children who are not yet either criminals
or paupers, but whose natural guardians will not,
or cannot, provide for their education. It is the
object of the Conference to lay before the Executive
Government and the Legislature, as a consequence
of the principle above stated, the imperative duty
of their providing education for this portion of the
community,—the neglected and destitute children
of Great Britain."

Mr. W. D. HILL, Q C , next rose, and a,"ster a
few preliminary observations proceeded to deli yer
a very long written address. He said the object,
which they had in view was to bring the little
outcasts of society into the brotherhood of man-
kind, and to enable them to hold their new position
by conferring upon them, so far as instruction and
training at school could avail, the faculty of self-
maintenance. The grand truths of religion should
stand first in any system of education. The learned
gentleman contended for the principle of a State
provision for the education of children, and spoke
of the advantages of ragged schools, quoting the
opinions of Lord Palmerston and Lord Derby in
their favour. He then refuted the objections which
had been made to the ragged schools, and con-
cluded by moving a resolution in conformity with
the principles for which he contended.
Mr. SCHOLEFIELD, M.P., seconded the resolution
moved by Mr. Field. It was—
" That obedience to the laws of God and scan is
powerfully promoted by the diffusion of sound
knowledge, and the training up the young in the
exercise of the great duties of life; therefore it is
incumbent on the State, as far as possible, to insure
the means of education for all children for whom
their parents are through poverty unable, or
through ignorance unwilling, to provide it."
A paper on "Ragged Schools," setting forth
their usefulness, was read by Miss CARPENTER,
which was warmly commended by Sir John Paking-
ton.

This paper, said the right hon. chairman, had the
signature of 146 of the most eminent friends of edu-
cation in Great Britain, Scotland, and Ireland, who
had supported the principle therein enunciated
without regard to religous opinion or political party;
and such a band of gentlemen he thought must be
influential with the Government and the Legisla-
ture. Having adverted to the fact that the Go-
vernments both of Lord Derby and Lord Palmer-
ston had opposed the grant to Ragged Schools, the
right hon. baronet proceeded to state that he could
not better put the meeting in possession of the facts
of the case than by reading the terms of the motion
he brought for ward in the House of Commons last
session, and loy drawing attention to some circum-
stances that arose out of it. The motion was,—
" That the grants annually made by Parliament
for t2.le promotion of education ought to be expended
v;ith a fair and just regard to the requirements of
the different classes of schools recognised by the
Minute of the Committee of Council ; and that the
Ragged and Industrial Schools, which are alone
adapted to meet the wants of a considerable number
<A destitute and neglected children, do not receive
the amount to which they are entitled."
Tie was of course, answered by the Minister who
represented the education department (Mr. Lowe),
and it was with regret that he had to call attention
to some remarks made by the right hon. gentleman
on that occasion. He said—

The Archdeacon of WORCESTER made a sugges-
tion, which resulted in adding one or two words
in the resolution, He expressed his cordial con-
currence in the objects of the Conference,

The Rev. Mr. OSBORN, chaplain of the Bath
Gaol, declared it to be his unqualified opinion that
every child in the land ought to be educated.
The Rev. Mr. BACHE, Unitarian minister, of
Birmingham, said that, even though he stood alone
in the matter, he could not permit the resolution to
be put without expressing his perfect faith in the
voluntary principle.
The resolution was put and carried.
The Rev. Dr. GUTHRIE moved the second reso-
lution :---

" When the right hon. gentleman complained
that under the present system, the higher class of
the working classes were amply provided for, and
the poorer class neglected, he complained of that
which was the very essence and principle of the
system. The system being a voluntary one, the
rich would provide for their own neighbourhoods,
and often to excess, and the poor who had no rich
among them would be unprovided for."
If (said Sir J. Pakington) Mr. Lowe had desired to
strike a blow at the system in existence, if he had
desired to hold out to Great Britain that the funds
liberally and amply supplied by Parliament were
not devoted to those objects which they ought to
promote, he could have made no statement more
fatal to the department over which he presided.
For if it was thus openly avowed by the educational
Minister that for those who were most destitute
they did nothing, they surely had the right to say
that such a system required alteration. It was,
then, this system, which administered the greatest
help where there was the least need, and that where
there
that the was the greatest need gave no help at a1:1,
y sought to remedy. Ins own op-inirda was,
and ho had avowed it over aad over arwl.Tl both in
and out of the House of Commons, 4:nat public aid
to education would be more l' .
,nefic
ially given if
they applied to the educati.oh of the humbler classes
ol
of society those same principles of local manage
—(hear, heAr)—to which Englishmen were in
her
respects ho much attached—which we had long al,.
plied to the relief of the principal wants of the poor,
which we applied to the management of our coun-
ties and our towns, and which was, in fact, that
system so much opposed to centralisation, and so
much upheld as one of the principles of our consti-
tution. (Applause.) If properly constituted bodies
were thus appointed throughout the length and
breadth of the land, there could be no doubt but the 1

" That neglected and morally destitute children
constitute a very large portion of the community,
yet that no educational aid is given for their educa-
tion from the Parliamentary grant, comparable to
such as is given to other classes of schools."

He said his experience in Edinburgh enabled him
to bear testimony to the fact, as stated in the reso-
lution, that neglected and destitute children con-
-1 stitute a very large class of the community. He
l ' had laboured for seven years in the very lowest
part of the town of Edinburgh, and had become
satisfied that it was impossible to raise the ragged
classes unless it was done through the rising gene-
ration ; and the only way of doing that was by
means of ragged schools. Such was also the
unanimous opinion of the shy missionaries, with
whom he was acquainted. Ile knew cast
the number of this class of children was
very "rage in all towns in Scotland, and he
B".Pe'jcedthat in England the case was still worse.
11:.nere was not a town in Scotland with a popula-
tion of 6,000 but needed a ragged school: tie was
astonished that Government did not take ragged
schools under their most fost;ring patronage) con-
sidering their usef7:mess. In Scotland' they were
the only set).
',,e-Is to which persona of all opinions
gave heir undivided approbation: iTe vntcuded
that a man who brought his child up as a swage
and as a burden to society
against it, and society was entiti
committed_ an offence
against such persons. No experiment
ed to protection
had been so
successful,,. as that of raggerl schools, and such was
pest public grants
importance that they might reasonably ex_
tnetr
to enable them to be carried on,
and yet t,,p,
vernraeat",-Y Lad to dance attendance on the Go-
of assip' ..or a long time before obtaining a penny
WaP -canoe, and they had no sooner got it but it
_.4 taken from them. Before the establishment

educational requirements of all the poor would be
properly attended to. (Hear, hear.) And here again
he must quote from his right hon. friend Mr. Lowe :
" The right hon. gentleman said that the educes
tional grants should be expended with fair and just
regard to the requirements of the difE rent classes
of schools recognised by the Minutes cf the Com-
mittee of Council. This seemed a very fair propo-
sition, but the practice of the Privy Council was not,
and never had been in conformity with it. And if
the House affirmed the motion, they would lay down
an entirely new principle of action, which would be
subversive of all the principles hitherto acted upon
by the department. The practice of the Committee
of Education was not to give grants in consideration
of requirements and necessities of the schools, but
in consideration of private persons corning forward
and supporting them."
To this there were two answers, First of all, if
such was the practice of the Privy Council, it ,
ought to. be changed ; and, secondly, Mr. Lowe I
had fallen into a practical error. He said the prac-
tice of tbte Privy Council was to grant money in
consideration of private persons coming forward.
That was precisely what they were asking for the
ragged schools ; they had never asked that they
should become entirely a burden on the public
purse. But one thing he did regret more than
any other in the speech of Mr. Lowe, and it
was when he made a boast of the pecuniary
saving which had been effected by withholding aid
to these ragged schools. The charge upon the edu-
cation department, it appeared, while this grant to
the ragged schools was in existence, was £27,000
a-year, but in consequence of withholding that
grant the amount was reduced to £5,500, and Mr.
Lowe boasted that a saving of £22,000 had been
effected. He trusted no one there would think the
sum a large one for the purpose, hut in the view he
had long entertained as to the mode in which edu-
cation should be assisted by the State he felt cer-
tain that the day would come when, if this central-
ising system of doing everything from an office in
London were adopted, the amount of that national
grant would become so great the Chancellor of the
Exchequer would raise his voice against it. Already
had this been seen in the course pursued by Mr.
Gladstone, who was the first Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer
to openly speak against the grant, although
others had not liked it a whit better, But when
they considered what had been done by these rag-
ged schools, was £22,000 or even £27,000 at all too
large a sum to spend out of the State funds in their
support ? The statement he held in his hand, and
which he intended to read, would show what had
been done :
" Upwards of 3,000 children had attended the
Aberdeen industrial schools since their commence-
ment. Of these 600 have gone from schools into
situations, and are, with very few exceptions, known
to be doing well ; while of the others there is every
reason to believe that a very large number have not
misconducted themselves. During the last few
years the greatest possible change has taken place.
Out of the 1000 vagrants who were reported to be
wandering in this part of the country, the whole
juvenile population, calculated at nearly 400, have
entirely disappeared. The juvenile offenders in
prison under 12 years of age have decreased from
61 in 1841 to 15 in 1858."
Having further adverted to the good done by the
ragged schools, and quoted from the paper read by
Miss Carpenter at the Bradford meeting of Social
Science, to show their beneficial effect on society
at large, Sir John Pakington said he had
endeavoured, as far as possible, to state the griev-
ance which had necessitated their conference, and
he trusted that the result of their discussion that
day would be a practical remedy for it. The remedy
he proposed was to address a firm remonstrance to
tile House of Commons, aud to demand that the
dictates of benevolence and common sense should
be no longer disregarded ; and he trusted that they
would be supported strenuously both in and out of
Parliament. Having shown how, when last brought
on, the question had been met on both sides of the
house in no party spirit, the right hon. chairman
expressed a hope that such would be the case this
year, and while advising that it should be brought
on early in the session as a substantive motion,
instead of being left till the estimates were brought
on at the end of the session in the presence of only
a few members, he suggested to the meeting the
propriety of choosing for their leader, not himself,
but some other of his colleagues, because he was
afraid the fact of his being a member of the late
Government vg.,‘-oa -nnt
(No, no.) The right hon. baronei, after some fur-
ther general remarks, expressed his confidence in
the ultimate success of the movement.

of ragged schools in Edinburgh thousands ofjile
beggars frequented the streets, but under tl e-

Viscount INGESTRE seconded the resolution,
which, after some remarks from Dr. Bell and other
gentlemen, was carried unanimously.
Lord LYTTELTON proposed the next resoluton, as
follows :
" That it is therefore the duty of the State to
give liberal financial aid to such schools, availing
itself, as in the case of reformatories, of that volun-
tary effort which is an essential condition of our
success."

Mr. SPOONER, M.P., seconded the resolution,
which was carried.
Mr. HANBITRY moved the appointment of a com-
mittee to carry the foregoing resolutions into effect.
Subsequently the chair was taken by the Earl of
Shrewsbury, and
A vote of thanks, moved by Mr. M. D. HILL, was
passed to Sir John Pakington for presiding, when
the Conference adjourned until this evening.

THE RANGOON TELEGRAPH CABLE.

The following are the particulars of the trans-
shipment of the Rangoon and Singapore telegraph
cable from the iron screw steamship Queen Vic-
toria, stranded in Barn Pool, Plymouth, into the
Government hulks. The discharge into the brig
thea and 27
Pilot commenced on the 6th instant, and
finished on the 11th. It consists of 39
knotsknots o f
of
theth shore
e mainend, hd,
cable,lB
99tiOnstoonns,
deck ; and 20 knots, 47 tons, on the upper deck ;
total, Pilot, 327 tons. The brig Rover commenced
on the 6th inst., finished on the 13th ; 57 knots
main coil of the cable, 133 tons, and 23 knots shore
end, 161 tons, and 48 knots main cable after coil,
all on the berth deck ; total Rover, 406 tons. The
corvette Arachne commenced Jan. 11th, finished
18th. Berth deck, main cable, forward coil, I£l
knots, 42 tons, ward-room aft 27 knots, 63 tons,
main coil 4.4 knots, 103 tons ; shore end, main coil
22 knots, 154 tons ; total on berth-deck 362 tons ;
main deck, portside aft 15 knots, main cable 35
tons, starboard 15 knots, 35 tons ; total main deck
70 tons ; total in the three vessels, 283 knots Main
cable and 72 knots shore end, 355 knots, 1,165 tons.
Although the cable was covered with water while
running, only two kinks occurred ; they wore
caused by the disturbed position of th-
oeen iorcea up ny a rock underneath.
The three vessels are now moored up Hamosze,
near the Royal Albert-bridge, Saltash, lashed along
side of each other, for the greater convenience of
the electricians when testing the cable. Awnings
are spread over the coils on the main decks, to pro-
tect the cable from the weather, and windsails are
fitted down to the berth decks to keep it as cool as
possible.
The temperature of the cable is, of course, con-
siderably lower since it was recoiled, and it is very
satisfactory to state that if the cable continues in an
improved condition until it is thoroughly dry no
further apprehension of heating need be experienced.
Every assistance has been rendered to the con-
tractors, Messrs. Glass, Elliott, and Co., by the Go-
vernment officials, Commander Brown, master-
attendant, and Commander Mul, his assistant ; the
value of ready help at such a time cannot be over-
estimated.
The cable is believed to have received no material
injury, and tests very well. It is intended to rejoin
the wire and thoroughly test the whole.
On Saturday or Sunday next, when the tides
range high, an attempt will be made to float the
Queen Victoria, by Captain Daniel Russell, from
Lloyd's, a gentleman who has had much experience
in operations of the kind. Harris, the diver, has
examined her, and reports that a smooth rock, 25
to 35 feet long, is right under her mainmast and
pusiles up the keel; the after part of the ship,
which was buoyant some time after grounding,
has now sunk down on the beach. The Queen Vic-
toria is divided into three compartments, and it is
proposed to:draw the water front the forward com-
partment with one of Gwynne's pumps, worked by
an engine of 10-horse power, and capable of lifting
1,000 gallons per minute. The after compartment
is provided with another pump, worked by a six-
horse engine, which lifts 500 gallons per minute.
When these compartments are empty (the cable
being landed), it is hoped that she will float suffi-
ciently to be taken into the large graving dock in
the Plymouth Great Western Docks. If not, she
will be removed to a clean beach Bear, repaired by
divers, and then placeda dock. The Queen Vic-
toria is a five-year-old ship 1 she was lengthened 62
or 63 feet at Sunderland, purposely to receive tne
Rangoon cable, the cable of which occupied about
that length in her. There is, we ,are informed,
neither lower deck nor beams in the mew part
although the depth between the main deck and the
ceiling is over 19 feet. Some mercantile men con-
sider that the arrangements for the conveyance of
the cable, which weighs nearly 1,200 tons, were
not of the best kind. It should, if possible, have
been distributed more equally over the ship, instead
of being in two soils only, one immediately before
the other immediately abaft the mainmast, and all
within a distance of some 60ft., in a ship 280 ft
long ; this alone was calculated to cripple her.
The cable was also stowed too low ; the platform oc
which it was laid should have been higher. hen
all stowed the upper part of the coil did not W
reach
the main deck by about 8 ft., and the main deck
is low because a spar deck runs fore and aft
the ship. When laden the line of flotation
was two or three feet below the maindeck, and
consequently five or six feet above the upper part
of the coil, and she must there ore have rolled fear-
!
fuly at sea. The weight of the cargo no doubt
decreased her steering qualities, which 8,-e defective.
It is also probable that her rudder and other Otings
were not increased proportionately after she es-as
lengthened. The two main pumps are worked by
a crank which requires the labours of eight men ; a
lift of 28 feet is Usually considered the maximum
I shin • in this case the water has to be
on Doan, • Tb are fitted on an
raised over 31 'feet.
_PPP
tly not in a
iron frame, bedded with wood, "1313ar-en modifications
very secure manner. No doubt, many_„a. The
will be made before she again proceeds to 5,
ent
ship is insured in various companies to the ext.
of about £42,000. The cable is insured at about
£BO,OOO. There is some dispute about the liability
in regard to the cable, which was underwritten in
the first place for a voyage to Rangoon, and when
it was determined to send the Queen Victoria to the
Mediterranean this alteration, it is said, was not
properly endorsed on the policies. If this should
be the oats@ it Will form the subject of the second
the unfortunate cable was
legal proc;:dings stric _us by Messrs. Neell
' • -0 +heir patent
shipped. The fist were .-.
and Co., for an alleged infringement u"
mode of stowing. They obtained
an 'umniu
just after the ship left Greenwich. Her Majesty's
paddlewheel steam-sloop Spiteful, 6, Commander
William C. P. Wilson, was sent into the Channel
to bring her into the Sound. On Monday Captains
Ferrer and Bea, two of the Pilot Committee of the
Trinity
Trinity House, inspected
the stranded ship in Barn
Pool. Fortunately, there has been no weather
likely to injure her much since she
has been ashore.

THE GERMAN CONFEDERATION.

ration of these institutions the streets haclln Several events are occurring which ought not to
cleared of them. Five per cent. of the priirs pass unnoticed or unregarded by the Great German
were formerly juveniles under 14 years of agit Confederation. The favourite argument among
in the fourth year after the establishment of:3e metaphysicians for the immortality of the soul is
schools the proportion was reduced to 4 per that it is simple, uniform, and indivisible. If the
and in the fifth year they had only half a jugs. converse of this is true, a Confederation multiform,
(Laughter.) Of the commitments in Edinlh complex, and divisible would seem to be peculiarly
during the ten years ending 1860,1.5 per cent.* liable to destruction, and ought to be peculiarly
juveniles ; from Leith, 4.8 per cent.—an extra- watchful of all tendencies towards disintegration.
nary fact, showing that in Leith, where no red If Germany were blessed with statesmen, or did her
schools existed, the juvenile offenders were le people possess, amid all their knowledge and refine-
times as numerous as in Edinburgh, which hadr ment, a small portion of that instinct of self -preser-
ragged schools. The proposition which he vation in which even the lowest animals participate,
gested should be made to the Government wart she would be viewing the events of the present hour
they should only contribute such money as a with very different feelings, and founding on them
needed for strictly educational purposes, ande very different aspirations from those in which she is
accounts should be submitted to Government- indulging. There was much justice in the remark
spection annually as a security that the• gra of the King of Prussia to his army, that the time
were not abused. He did not wish to call ul was coming when they might be called upon to
the Government to pay a farthing for it fight for their very existence—strange and start-
or clothing for the children, which woulc% ling words, as coming from such a quarter, but still
provided for by private benevolence. Anotr stranger and more ominous that they should be fol-
proposition he would make was that the Gove. lowed by a line of conduct which seems a practical
ment should contribute towards these sche denial of the sincerity of the speake7...
one-third of the amount raised by private bens One event that claims from Germany the most
lance ; and he thought a more reasonable suggest. absorbing attention is the present condition of the
was never laid before the Government. empire of Austria. Here is a case where it is
clearly in vain to try to believe that to-morrow
The Earl of SHREWSBURY seconded the reso shall be as to-day, or that a system which has worn
tion, which after a few remarks from Sir Baldw
out the faith, the loyalty, the patience o the sub-
Leighton and Mr. Hanbury, M.P., was carried. jects and creditors
of the empire, can be much
The Rev. Dr. MILLER moved the third resol longer continued. The blood that was shed in
tion, as follows :
1848, and the wars and slaughters that succ-eded
it, have not yet been expiated. The repression of
" That the experience of the last 18 years h 12 years has not stamped out the fires that were
proved that this portion of the population is reach( then lit, but which still glow beneath the deceitful
in many districts to a considerable extent, and ca ashes, and adversity has come in her sternest form
be effectually raised by ragged and industria to point out the opportunity and to whet the
schools ; but the schools of this class, which ough appetite for revenge. The army, to which every-
to be good, involve much greater expenditure that thing else has been sacrificed, has been found a
ordinary schools, and cannot be permanently sup- failure, antiquated in its organization and its arms,
ported in the required efficiency, or extended to all ill led, ill victualled, unprovided with medical
districts requiring them, by voluntary aid alone." assistance or comfort, and offered up by the incom-
They were aware that inspection must follow Go- potency of its leaders a, a v;ntim to a bold And
vernment grants as a matter of necessity, and he interprising enewy. The finances have utterly
'
agreed with the opinions expressed by the Recorder 4ollap3ed and the great military Empire of Austria
with reference to that subject. He did not wish to 'annot, for all the security it can offer, borrow, in
is last agony and utmost need, a single million
see the Privy Council system destroyed, but ex- nore. Confidence is gone—confidence in the honesty
panded, in order fully to meet the case of neglecteiolfinanciers and contractors—confidence in the pro-
and destitute children. Imises of the Government—confidence in its ability

to stand any longer upon the mass that is disinte-
?rating beneath its feet. If Austria disappears
rom the German Confederation, what elements
will be found to fill up the chasm ? A powerful
31avonic State on the South-East, and an interrup•
ion of the communication between Germany and
he Adriatic, seem probable results ; but NN hat is •to
lecome of Bohemia, whit of Austria Proper, what
(f the Tyrol ? Pruss!sa may look forward with
satisfaction to the extinction of her great rival,
bit she can scarcely be without apprehension as to

tie results of a catastrophe which is too near her
nkt to shake her to the very centre of her loosely
ecnnected dominions.
A second subject, still more imperatively de-
manding the attention of the German Confedera-
tin, is the immense development of the military
power of France, and the symptoms that every-
wiere meet us of the restless and aggressive dispo-
sition with which that power is wielded. It is idle
to dilate on this topic. There was a time, and
that not long ago, when Germany seemed fully
alive to her danger, and when, in the plenitude
of her enthusiasm, she threatened to rivet the
chains of unhappy Italy in order to check the ad-
vances of France. Austria is much weaker and
France is in many respects considerably stronger
than theywere in the days of Magenta and Solferino,
but in proportion as the danger becomes greater
the care of Germany seems to become leas. Spring
may bring Garibaldi and his followers into Hun,
gary and France to the Rhine, but the mind of
Germany is not fixed on these things. She has a
nearer and far more absorbing object of contempla-
tion than the protection of her western frontier
or the destruction of the most powerful State in
her federation. We have never remarked hitherto
that the German Federation has had any particular
strong sympathy with the German people. Pro-
vided the German Princes retained their sway, they
have been at liberty to deal with the population
parcelled out among them even as they listed.
There' are few experiments in statecraft, from the
selling of their subjects to the English Government
to suffering them to be kidnapped by the old King
of Prussia, to which the German nation has not
submitted. But now a chord is struck that vibrates
to the heart of every professor, a sentiment is
excited, a sympathy is moved, and an idea is pro-
pounded to which Germany responds from one end
to the other. The German subjects of th. u: ^Z,
tuu.b ut Uts uaugtit liens /1; they must
he kept pure and undefiled from every taint of Scan-
dinavian impurity. Does not Teutonic blood flow
in their veins ? Do they not inhabit a portion of
the fatherland? They are allowed perhaps more
freedom, more influence over their own affairs, than
any of the German populations ; but 'their national
prejudices are wounded, their sympathies
are disregarded, and Germany, with Prussia
at her head Prussia, who can fight
in no other quarrel burns to measure
swords with the King of Denmark, for fear the
inhabitants of Holstein should learn to use "k"
instead of " ch," or acquire a nasal twang abhorrent
to Teutonic ears. This is the crusade which in the
present tremendous crisis of her affairs Germany
has chosen for herself, and in this grammatical and
Professorial war Prussia offers herself as the leader,
ready to do battle against all comers for the tongue
of Goethe, Schiller, and Kant.
We wish we could recall to the memory of the
Princes who have embarked on this scholastic en-
terprise that Prussia once had a King who, if he
failed somewhat in a thorough appreciation of
German literature, had, at any rate, the head of a
statesman and the soul of a hero. The Great Fre-
derick of Prussia set himself the task of making
a small kingdom into a large one, and he accom-
plished it. Certainly his spelling was very indiffe-
rent, and his compliments to Voltaire are not
conceived in a purely classical taste ; but, on the
other hand, he saw clearly, resolved decisively, and
acted energetically. He was a stranger to the
tremors and doubts which paralyse the minds of
descendants. He was little given to sympathies
and antipathies, and for such sentimentality as he
had he found a sufficient vent in the production of
execrable verses. If he had " ideas" he did not
go to war for them. He fought the Seven Years'
War, but it was for the province of Silesia, which
he took and held in defiance of France, Austria,
and Russia. He had the most intense con-
sciousness of what it was that he wanted, and
rarely did he fail to get it. Could such a man
as this—nay, could a man with one-half the single-
ness of purpose, energy, resolution, and courage of
this man, be placed upon the throne of Prussia,
what reasonable object of human ambition would
not be within his grasp ? Victor Emmanuel has
to a great extent consolidated Italy, but he has
done so in spite of the natural bent of the people,
in spite of a bigoted Church, and in spite of an ally
whose best efforts have been used to retard his pro-
gress. A King of Prussia who really understood
bis own mission would have none of these things to
contend with. Unity was the wish of educated
Italy, but it is the passion of educated and unedu-
cated Germany. lief Prtiooid lay auwn any prin-
ciple of action which is at once liberal and intel-
ligible, and the German nation desires nothing
better than to enlist under her standard. Let
Prussia but offer a refuge from the ills which
Germany has so often experienced, and the whole
nation is ready to follow her. She might obtain
without bloodshed and without offence an empire,
vast, solid, and enduring ; and while protecting
herself from the threatenings of immediate danger
might be hailed as the saviour of 40 millions of
mei of the same race and language. But, instead
of arming Germany to repel any possible aggres-
slot of France, Prussia draws her sword to
cored the language of the Danish Duchies, and
waste the power that might redeem and gain an
emiire in an idle squabble about pronouns and
artcles.—Tinms.

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L JP INTEL LIG ENCE.—Jan. 23.

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS.
YEAMES AND OTHERS V. LINDSAY AND OTHERS-
SHIP 'S CHARTER.

The plaintiffs in this case are shipbrokers in
London and at 'Cagan rog, and the defendants are the
well known shipbrok ers in London. It was stated
that it is the custom when cargoes of wheat are
expected from the BI ack Sea to charter vessels in
London and to send them to the Black Sea upon
the chance of obtainin g a higher freight than was
payable upon the char ter party effected in London.
The defendants,acting•upon this practice, chartered
the William and Mars- at 60s. a ton, and employed
the plaintiffs to obtain a freight for her at Tagan-
rog, saying in their lf.tter, "We hope you will be
able to place her to advantage, but if unfortunately
there should be a loss your draft on us for the dif-
ference will meet due honour." It happened when
the vessel arrived in the Black Sea the rate of
freight was only 40s. a ton, and the plaintiffs them-
selves loaded her at that rate, and drew upon the
defendants for the difference between the 60s. and
40s. a ton. The defendants however declined to pay,
and the present action was brought. At the trial a
verdict was entered for the plaintiffs, and the ques-
tion now was whether a rule to enter a verdict for
the defendants should be made absolute, the ques-
tion being whether the fact of the plaintiffs loading
the vessel instead of chartering her to some third
person made any difference iu the defendants' lia-
bility.
The Court was of opinion that it was immaterial
whether the plaintiffs themselves or some third
person chartered tie vessel, for the plaintiffs were
in either event cat tied to retain their verdict.

Rule discharged
JONES V. NEWPOR'!.--ACTION BY A BARMAN FOR
FALSE IMPRISONMENT.

The plaintiff in tliis case has been for a short time
barman to the defendant, who keeps the Star and
Garter, opposite Shweditch Church, and the pre-
sent action was breight to recover damages for
false imprisonment and malicious prosecution. The
defendant pleaded that his watch, chain, and ring,
had been stolen, that he had reasonable grouted for
suspecting the plaintiff, and that, therefore, he gave
him into custody. It appearedthat the defendant's
wife had placed the articles on the mantel-shelf in
his bedroom, on the afternoon in question, and that
the plaintiff soon afterwards went up to his own
room to wash preparatory to taking some dirty
clothes to the laundress. Having come down, he
left the house and was absent about an hour. When
the property was missed, a servant girl, named
Fowler, told the defendant that she was with Mrs.

Newport iu the bedroom, and remained after her
to put the place in order ; when she left she turned

the key in the lock, and left, it there ; that soon
afterwards she saw the plaintiff come out of that
romn, that he appeared confused, and that he went
into the kitchen with. his hand in his trousers
pocket. Witness followed him, and said, " George,
how red your face is," and he said that he had just
been washing, and went down stairs. When wit-
ness mentioned these circumstances, the plaintiff
said, " You have done for me now about my red
face ; and you have got me transported for seven or
11 years." The plaintiff was given in charge, and
having been remanded by the magistrate, was
afterwards discharged. In his evidence before
the jury the plaintiff stated that he knew no-
thing of the property ; and he denied that he had
been in the defendant's bedroom. He also denied

that ha said that Fowler would get him transported ;
he said she would get him locked up. Another
circumstance of s-uspicion alleged against the
plaintiff was that wen he came down he left the
house in a hurried initialler, and in his shirt sleeves,
although it was frosty at the time, and he had a
considerable distance: to go. The construction of
the defendant's hous e was such that no person could
get from the front 'of the bar upstairs without pass-
ing through a door which somebody behind the bar
must open. The ca se came on for trial before Mr.
Justice Keating, at Guildhall, whep the jury were
unable to agree, I,there being one dissentient, and
ultimately it was (agreed to take the verdict of the
eleven. His lordship now said, when reporting the
circumstances to the Court, that the verdict, of the
eleven turned out not as he had supposed it would
be, for the defendamt, but that, much to his surprise,
it was for the plaintiff, damages 40s. Subsequently
a rule was obtained for a new trial, upon the
grounds that the verdict was against theevidenn,
and that it was a perverse verdict, and to-day came
was shown against this rule being made absolute.
Mr. Gibbons showed cause, and submitted that
the verdict was not perverse, inasmuch as the whole
question had been left to the jury, and they had
decided it as best they could; and further, that
where the damages were less than £2O it was con-
trary to the practice to order a new trial upon the
ground that the verdict was against the evidence.
Mr. Justice Keating said one of the jury, as he
collected from frequent questions put, insisted on
taking the issue to be whether the plaintiff had or
had not committed a felony ; for after he had told
the juryman several times that that was not the
issue, he put the ,restion whether they could find
for the defendant without imputing felony to the
plaintiff. He(the learned judge) again told the
Juryman that we.s not the question ; but only
whether the defendant had good grounds for sus-
pecting the plaintiff, and the juryman certainly did
not seem satisfied with that statement.
Mr. Gibbons—But that juryman might have been
the dissentient one, and if not he was then only one
among eleven.
Mr. Murphy, on the part of the defendant,
offered, if a stet processus were entered upon the
count for malicious prosecution, to let the verdict
stand upon the other count for the plaintiff, the
damages of course not being sufficient to carry costs.
The Lotd Chief Justice said the Court though
that there should be a stet processus generally.
Mr. Gibbons said he had no instructions to con-
sent to a stet processus, and he contended that the
plaintiff was entitled to keep his verdict.
The Lord Chief Justice said there was no doubt

that the rule would be made absolute. It appeared
that the jury thought that they could not find for
the defendant without casting a serious imputation
upon the plaintiff; and there was no doubt that, in
the opinion of the judge, the plea was proved.
Mr. Justice Keatimg—Proved to the letter.
The Lord Chief Justice said this was a most in-
tensely wrong verdict; and, indeed, in the course
of his long experien cc, he hardly recollected any-
thing to approximate to it.
Mr. Justice Williams thought that the plaintiff
should have been non.suited on the plea of not guilty.
The Lord Chief Justice said if the stet processus
were not consented to the rule for a new trial would
be absolute; but the former course would be valu-
able in this way, that it would save the character
of the plaintiff.
After some further discussion, the rule was
ordered to remain open, to enable the plaintiff's
counsel to consider whether he would agree to a
stet processus.
HARTWELL V. VESEY AND WIFE.
_ _

The plaintiff was a man approaching i 0 years of
age, and had served in the army for many years, but
had latterly been employed about the schools,
church, and almshouses at Woburn, and had re-
ceived 12s. 10d. per week. One afternoon, Mrs.
Vesey, who was a member of the committee of the
school, was going along a passage attached to the
building, when she saw the plaintiff laying hold of
a young woman named Brewer in such a manner as
induced her to report to the clergyman that he was
" kissing and embracing" her. The clergyman,
who said he had previously had occasion to find
fault with the plaintiff for levity of conduct, re-
ported what he had heard to the steward of the
Duke of Bedford, and the result was the dismissal
of the plaintiff from the position which he held.
The plaintiff afterwards brought this action, to re-
cover damages for slander, and, in his evidence, ex-
plained that, whilst he was walking along the
passage the girl Brewer pushed a broom against
his back and shoved him on three or four yards.
He turned round, saying, " I will be shot if I do not
take the broom from you," and he had his arms
round her, and was endeavouring to take the broom
away when Mrs. Vesey came in sight. He had
never kissed the girl, nor had anything at all im-
proper passed ; ar.d, indeed, her mother was within
a few yards of them. At the trial before the Lord
Chief Justice, the jury awarded the plaintiff £5O ;
but the question now was, whether a rule for a
new trial should be made absolute.

Mr. O'Malley, Q.C., and Mr. Couch appeared to
show cause against the rule, and Mr. D. Keane to
support it.
The Lord Chief Justice said there could be no
doubt that Mrs. Vesey acted from motives that
entitled her to credit and respect, and there was no
doubt also that she believed she saw what she said
she saw, though subsequent explanation put another
interpretation upon the circumstances presented to
her eyes. The case, however, was one for the jury,
and therefore the rule would be absolute for a new ,
trial, only upon payment of costs.
Rule absolute.

COURT OF PROBATE AND DIVORCE.
(Before Sir C. Cresswell.)
DART V. DART.
In this case the husband petitioned for a judicial
separation from his wife on the ground of her
cruelty, and the suit has been set down for hear-
ing. A motion was now made on behalf of the wife,
n'hiecting to the petition, as being insufficient in the
' 4 the acts alleged, which did not amount

get !depressio.. _
pieces of these disorders
reirved by the use of Holloway's
shold bo taken in doses sufficient to act on L.-
witout distressing it, while the Ointment should beTreeiy
allied to the parts of the skin affected, and also rubbed averment -_
ove the stomach and liver, at least twice a day. The to legal cruelty.
Oinment not only cleanses the skin, but acts beneficially
Sir C. Croswell, g
swell, haTiu
ou g subjacent organs.

-erred to the petition;

said the husband complained that respondent had
frequently menaced him with violence without hav-
ing received sufficient provocation ; that on three
occasions she struck him and broke his spectacles ;
had also endeavoured to stab him with a knife, and
committed other acts of violence. He considered
all these acts formed good ground for the petition,
and he dismissed the motion.