The Sun.
London, England, 1868-10-17 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 17, 1868.

THE CONGREGATIONAL UNIONS

Friday was the last day of the Congregational TlllOlll
autumnal meeting, which has been held at Leeds. The
concluding meeting was a public breakfast to the Educa-
tional Board of7the Union. Some 250 ministers and other.
were present. Mr. Samuel Morley occupied the chair.
The question discussed was education. The chairman, in
opening the proceedings, adverted to the change of opinion
which had taken place concerning the Government grant.
He declared he was not for at all relinquishing his at-
tachment to the great principle that religious supervision
must always have to do with a system of education for the
people ; and yet in accepting the position that the great
want of the people was a good sound secular education,
he wished not to be misunderstood. So far as their de-
nominational schools were concerned, they must be
religious. They did not want any dogmatic teaching.
He should be very thankful to see every man an Inde-
pendent, but he would leave people to decide for them-
selves. In none of the Congregational schools did they seek
to strengthen their position by education merely. There
were friends of education in some parts of the country
who were exposed to such competition that some
aid from the State must really be looked to by them.
The Government had done as much as it could, and hence-
forth State pay would be given to secular teaching. The
Government said, " Prove that you are giving good teach-
ing in reading, writing, and arithmetic, and then deal
with your chldren religiously as you think fit."
That would be a great advance in the position of
Dissenters ; but he was prepared to recommend
some supplement, for in London something im-
mense was required, and there were destitute districts in
all parts of the country; and let there be, in addition,
secular schools. He had not great faith in corporations
in superintending this matter, for he did not think that
members of town councils generally were the persons to
whom he would commit the education of the people. He
was a thorough believer in local government, but all the
mischief resulting from it must lay at the door of those
who chose the representatives. The leaders of these
matters in the House of Commons, he believed, were
honestly desirous to meet the fair requirements of all classes.
The Privy Council, the Duke of Marlborough, and Lord
R. Montagu had shown every disposition to meet the Inde-
pendents, by placing all on an equality ; the leaders on the
other side were equally clear in that way; and though
they could hardly wish to see any large body of Congrega-
tionalists taking precisely the same ground, he hoped all
might be able to see in those proposals an equal degree of
progress, which would be regarded as the ground
that all might take in common.—Mr. Baines, M.P., in
moving the first resolution, expressing confidence in the
Board of Education, said the Government had pronounced
in favour of a system of absolute impartiality—a system
not exclusively bound up with religious instruction—but
would impartially give aid to those friends of education
who could produce the results of a good secular instruc-
tion. Therefore, he (Mr. Baines) thought they might
say now with perfect truth that so far—not, indeed, as
legislation had gone— but so far as the wishes and
public declarations of the great parties in the State
were concerned, they were favourable to a system of
which this Board of Education could approve, and
therefore they now accepted the aid which the State
granted to education, and in so doing it was assumed
there would be no interference with conscience or with any
religious instruction they might think it their duty to give.
They were placed in the position that the State equally
gave aid and countenance to those friends who still main-
tained the purely voluntary system, and to those who con-
sented to the acceptance of State aid. Referring to their
denominational college at Homerton, he claimed support
for it, for they did not seek mere party success there. But
he declared his solemn conviction that it would be wrong
as well as ruin for them to seek to discharge the religious
element from the education of the people. They ought
not to insist upon religious education, but a system of per-
feet impartiality should be adopted, and if the united
efforts of the various religious bodies should fail to
meet the wants of the community, the power should be
given to boroughs and parishes to supplement what at
present it was meant to do.

THE COLLIERY ACCIDENT AT RUABON.

A coroner's inquest is being conducted into the circum-
stances of the great colliery explosion near Ruabon. One
of the witnesses detailed how he was at work altering a
door in one of the shafts when the accident took place.
He heard men and boys screaming, and oue man he found
dead at the mouth of the shaft. But he could not tell the
cause of the accident. He saw no naked lights. The over-
looker of the mine (Mr. Darlington) thought the accident
was caused by a naked light being taken into one of the
" breaks." One reason that helped to confirm him in the
belief that the milli fired in the returned-air course of
Fox's break was, that the boys and men at work near the
eye of the pit were burnt and killed, whilst men in the
distant workings escaped all injury. One lamp was found
unlocked after the accident. It belonged to George
Edwards. Only certain men in the pit had keys where-
with to unlock lamps. It was quite possible to open these
lamps without a key.

The Coroner remarked that it was a mere waste of time
to inquire anything more about the keys of lamps. Mr.
Round said the lamps in use at the New British Iron
Company's mine were so constructed that if they were
opened detection was sure to follow.
Witness, on being re-examined, said he saw the firemax
on the morning of the accident between six o'clock ant
half-past, and asked him how the pit was. He replied
that he had been round the workings, and had not found
a " smitering "of gas. He had heard of men working
in the pit getting through the doors into the returned-air
course for the purpose of smoking. He had suspicion
of an individual some time ago, but there was no certain
evidence obtained shewing that he had been guilty of
the act. He was, however, discharged. Another man
was known to have done it, and a summons was obtained
against him to appear before the Ruabon magistrates, but
he did not appear, and a warrant was now out for his ap-
prehension.

Moses Morgan, a little collier, 13 years of age, was next
called. On being questioned by the coroner he stated that
he had been at school for a week : he did not know what
an oath was, but he believed that if he told a lie he would
"goto a hot fire." He was not sworn, but stated that
when the explosion took place he was looking on at the
bottom of one of the tramways, and he and another boy
were blown away for a distance of about fifteen yards.
At the moment he was blown off he was locking
his lamp. The key had been given to him for the purpose
of giving lights to the men when their lights went out. He
had just supplied a light to a man named Ward, who had
" lost his fire." The explosion took place just after Ward
left him. He locked Ward's lamp when he gave it to him,
He was sure of that.

Alter some further evidence the inquiry was adiournec

LAW AND POLICE.

LIBLL.—A serious charge of libel is being investl,..ted
at the Mansion House. The accused is a wine merchant,
and it is alleged that for the purpose of injuring the Otto-
man Railway Company the accused had addressed a
number of letters to the Secretary Of State for Foreign
Affairs, "charging the directors in effect with dishonesty,
and dissipating the property of the shareholders." The
case just now stands adjourned.

ROBBERIES.—A curious case of stealing heavy goods
came before the Lambeth magistrate on Friday.. Six
men were charged with thieving, and four van loads
of property, the result of their robberies, were piled
up in the office yard. The principal victims were
Messrs. Doulton, Messrs. Stiff, and other drain-
pipe, jar, and stoneware manufacturers near Lambeth
Bridge ; but besides their manufactures there were found
in the house of one of the accused, named Ball, twenty
coal and forty-seven corn sacks, door mats, carpets, rugs,
fire-irons, twenty-seven bolts and nuts, and a number of
other articles, all stolen. The prisoners were committed
for trial.

Frocussara.—A singular case of hocussing came before
the Woolwich magistrates on Friday, in which a respect-
able man was stupified, and now lies in a dangerous state
from congestion of the brain, in consequence of snuff having
been put into his beer by a sailor-like looking person who
had him in tow. No evidence was given to shew that the
poor fellow was robbed ; but should he die, which, from
the medical testimony, appears likely, the prisoner wit'
be placed in a most serious position.
THE SHOOTING AT CHILDREN CASE.—The boatman
Buckley, who a short time back shot four schoolboys on
the banks of the canal near Leicester, has been committed
for trial.

THE VISIT OF TIIE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OE
WALES TO KNOWSLEY.—We understand that the visit of
the Prince and Princess of Wales to Knowsley Park, the
seat of the Earl of Derby, is to take place, so far as at
present can be arranged, on the second proximo.
WILLS AND BEQUESTS.—TiIe will of the Right
Reverend Francis Jeune, Lord Bishop of Peterborough,
D.D., D.C.L., was proved at Peterborough on the 12th
ult., by his relict, Margaret Dyne Jenne, the sole
executrix. The personalty was sworn under £35,000.
The will is very brief, and is in words to this effect : "By
this my last will, I, Francis Jeune, Bishop of Peter-
bc)rough,commend my soul to Almighty God, through the
merits of the Saviour who loved me and gave himself for
me ; and bequeath all my estate whatsoever to my good
and loving wife, whom I name as guardian of my children
;index age, if need be, and executrix of this my will '?
1310. l's_toftnnvgll,

UR. M. GIBSON ON THE EXPENDITURE.

Mr. Milner Gibson has been speaking in Somerset on
that wearisome topic, the expenditure. It was his opinion
that they would never do much by small economies. They
might:reduce the charge for building a ship ; they might
disband a few men here and a few men there ; they might
prove that some guns or a particular man-of-war had cost
a great deal more than was right, but they might rely on
it, the question of expense lay in the magnitude of their
great military and naval establishments. Could they be
reduced ? It was a question a man must not talk in a
loose way about. The more they looked at the question
the more they would find it to be an European question.
All European nations seemed to be trying to rival each
other in the amount of their armaments. It was, to use
the words of Mr. Disraeli, a question of bloated arma-
ments throughout Europe, and the difficulty which had
to be met was, who was to begin to disarm. No man
could do a more patriotic thing than he who, like the
members of the Peace Society, employed himself in
spreading sound opinions upon this question, to show the
different nations the folly of maintaining larger military
and naval establishments than were necessary for their
defence, or for legitimate purposes. Our present expendi-
ture was £70,000,000 a year, of which £05,000,000 was upon
the military and naval establishments, and the interest on
debts incurred for war expenditure. He believed he
was correct in saying that out of every shilling paid in
taxes, ninepence went towards military and naval establish-
ments, and the interest on the debt. He contended that
these great bloated armaments in time of peace were not
the best preparations for exertion should war overtake us,
but that we should be in a better condition, if our
resources were husbanded and our taxation were not so
heavy in time of peace, to make the necessary effort to
defend ourselves in time of war.

CAPTAIN SHERARD OSBORN ON THE
EXPENDITURE.

Captain Sherard Osborn spoke at Salford, on Thursday,
en the subject of the expenditure of the country. He fully
recognised that this was not merely a question of saving
so much money by reducing our armies and fleets.
At that moment 20 millions sterling were lying idle in
the Bank of England, and an equal amount in the Bank
of France, all of which should be circulating and impart-
ing life and bread to them all. The entire revenue
of this country might be put down at 691 millions, and of
this, 261 millions were spent upon soldiering and sailoring,
and that did not embrace the whole of what we were
spending, There was, far away from this country, a
hundred millions of British subj ects in India, who produced
a revenue of about thirty-nine millions, half of which went
in soldiering and sailoring, in addition to the first-named
amount. There were 60,000 British troops in India.
It was not necessary, in his opinion, to have so many. It
was impossible to shut one's eyes to the great waste of life
which tools place there. Within the last year, in the
healthiest part of Upper India, out of 34 regiments they
buried two of them. He wished them to bear in mind that
we spent 261 millions upon the services in a time of pro-
found peace. In his younger days, when he was engaged
in active service, England was just as much respected as
she is now, and yet he found that from 1836 to 1854 our
expenditure upon the army and navy ranged from 11
millions to 16 millions. The heritage of the educated
classes, as Mr. Vernon Harcourt said, was a debt of 800
millions, for the glory of keeping the Bourbons on the
throne of France, the last of whom was chased from the
throne about a month ago, the supremacy of the seas, and
a few captured colonies. Our vaunted supremacy on the
seas was fast disappearing, and there was no doubt that we
must give up that idea altogether. He had found it very
difficult to bring his mind to the conclusion that the
high seas were not altogether made for Englishmen.
The notion of exclusiveness was disappearing, and in cora-
Dany with it the impression that England ought to keep
up squadrons in all the seas of the world, and maintain
the police of those seas for the rest of the world at
her own expense. Various strongpositions in different parts
of the world, such as Gibraltar, had been seized, and the
English people were told that those places were "keys"
which must be fortified. The fact was, that in these days
of ironclad steamers such keys were practically useless.
Twenty Gibraltars could not prevent those steamers
from going into or coming out of the Meditteranean Sea.
Malta, he admitted, was a position which he believed it
would be difficult to part with at present, unless it could
be guaranteed by the European Powers as a good central
neutral point. But Malta cost this country a million
per annum for soldiers alone. Canada had 13,000 of
our soldiers, at a cost to this country of £1,600,000 a year
—a force which, in the event of a war with the United
States, against whom alone it was kept there, would be
utterly useless. He strongly urged the desirablepess of
cultivating amicable relations with the United States, and
as one result of which the Canadians might dispense with
our army. We had also 30,600 troops in Ireland, which
certainly would not be necessary did we pursue a policy of
justice and conciliation in that country. He was in Ireland
on duty in 1848, in connection with the Smith O'Brien
affair ; and, returning to the country a few years after, he
met an old Irish tailor or shoemaker, who asked him
when he was coming back. He replied that he did not
know ; when the man exclaimed, " Oh, bedad, we must
get up another rebellion. There has been no contract in
the country since the last." To sum up, if we had thirteen
battalions (a thousand men each) in Canada, eight at
Malta, six at Gibraltar, and about twenty-five in Ireland,
that would account for a very large proportion of the 140
battalions we had ; and he said it was easy for the states-
man who was really bent on measures of military retrench.
ment to find out amongst these 140 battalions some of
them, not to be paid off and the men turned into tne
streets without a sixpence in their pockets, but to be put
down in some of our colonies where there was plenty of
land for them, such as Australia and New Zealand. The
next point in military retrenchment was that'of fortifica-
tions. The gallant captain spoke at some length on this
subject, chewing how absolutely useless in case of invasion
were our stupendous fortifications at Portsmouth and
Plymouth. He pointed out how Lord Palmerston had
been beguiled into this expenditure in the first instance,
and how every succeeding Government n• a .
gone on
blundering and scrambling from bad to worse. The
original estimate was for 12 millions, but he was convinced
that 25 millions would be spent upon them before all the
spending was over. They were now beginning to protect
each of the four thousand guns used in the forts with
a shield, at a cost of about a thousand pounds a piece,
and even when all was done the forts would be very
little use. The greatest blunder of all was their immensity;
it would require an army of 140,000 men to man them.
Coming to the navy, Captain Osborn said the dockyards
were the department which required to be most looked
after. He contended that the whole system of our naval
administration was radically defective. If, instead of a
numerous fleet such as we had at present, we were to
construct a few powerful vessels of the monitor class, we
might effect an enormous saving, and at the same time
increase rather than diminish our warlike efficiency. He
suggested that a military railway round the coast—if it
were necessary to resort to defensive works at all—would
be the most effective that we could have in case of actual
:vasion.

The Rev. T. Fowle, of Iloxton, a well-known
writer on educational matters, has been appointed by the
rector of St. Mary's, Bryanstone-square, to the incumbency
of St. Luke's, Nutford-place, Paddington, vacant by the pre-
ferment of Mr. Rowley to Frant.
WIFE MURDER.--A man named Francis Howard
Clare has been taken into custody at Norwich on a chargt
of having murdered his wife by cutting her throat. Clare
works as a shoemaker, and was formerly in the army. An
inquest was held on Saturday.
The coolness of Charles Mathews in the farce
" Cool as a Cucumber " is frequently surpassed in real
clever comedian to the blush.
Ttl ihfwieso;
wnalhnei dnc
hwn
wae
roaruor
liedv nl
ypo NueVst
cathp privileged to record one instance of
drowning a clay or two past at
Havre. They were intoxicated, and in this state fell into
the harbour. The Custom-house officers succeeded in
rescuing both from their perilous position, when one of
them actually urged his deliverers to dive again and get
him his hat.

CARLYLE AND THE TALKER. —An anecdote is
going the rounds which is not bail. Carlyle, the man of
great thought and of a big head, full of Schwarmery, was
one day at a very nice dinner party, and doing his duty as
a practical philosopher should. Opposite him sat a
very rich, pompous, large man, with five yards of
shirt-front, and another big head at the top of it,
full, as its pompous owner conceived, of noble
thoughts and experience ripened into grand views
and maxims of life. He succeeded in getting that awful
thing at a dinner party, a dead silence, and for a quarter
of an hour then gave forth the magnitude of his views on
subjects political, philosophical, and social, to Carlyle
and no one else, who all the while but opened the
mouth of his massive te/e and conveyed thereinto solid
and fluid. The pompous man came to the end; dead
silence reigned. He looked round at the whole of the
company up and down the table to see the favour-
able effect he was sure he must have produced,
and then addressed himself to Carlyle thus : " And now,
what do you really think of my views, Mr. Carlyle, on
these matters I have touched upon, but briefly, sir, but
briefly ?" No response followed. The question was
repeated, when the big head was raised. Carlyle regarded
his opposite neighbour vacantly for a moment, and then
in his fine Scotch musical pibroch accent quietly remarked,
" You're a poor critter, sir—a poor critter," and so
resumed his occupation with the fluids and solids, amidst
the glorious mirth of those who enjoyed the well-merite4
41.4g9m.fork—of tuothe

PROGRAMME OF NEWMARKET HOUGHTON
MEETING. —MONDAY, Oct. 19.

A Plate of 200 sovs (Handicap) for two and three year I
olds ; Bretby Stakes Course.
Plate of 50 sovs (Handicap), for three year olds and up-
wards; Cambridgeshire Course.
Maiden Plate of 50 soya, for two year olds ; colts Bst 101 b,
fillies and geldings Bst 71b ; the winner to be sold for
300 soya ; if for 200 sovs allowed 71b. Criterion
Course.
One Hundred Pounds ; three year olds 7st 111 b, four Bst
101 b, five, six, and aged Bst 131 b; maiden four year olds
allowed 71b, five and upwards 141 b.
Selling Handicap of 10 sovs each, for three year olds
and upwards ; the winner to be sold for 100 sovs if de-
manded, &c. T.Y.C.
Sweepstakes of 10 soya each ; three year olds Bst, four
Bst 101 b, five and upwards 9st llb ; the winner to be
sold for 300 soya if demanded, &c. Bretby Stakes
Course.
The Criterion Stakes of 30 soya each, 20 ft, for two year
olds ; colts Bst 81b, fillies Bst 6lb ; winners of a 500 sovs
sweepstakes, including the winner's own stake, with ten
subscribers 41b, of two such stakes 71b, of any other
sweepstakes value 200 soya, including the winner's own
stake, a d not having loss than ten subscribers 21b
extra. Criterion Course. 63 subs.
A Plate of 50 sovs for two year olds; colts Bst 101 b, fillies
Bst 71b ; winners of 500 sovs 71b extra ; if entered to
be sold for 100 soya allowed 71b.
TUZSDSY.
A Free Handicap of 25 cove each, 10ft ; winners of a
handicap after Thursday, Oct. 15 (at ten a.m ), 71b, of
any other race 31b extra. T.Y.C.
A Plate of 100 sovs (Handicap), for three year olds and
upwards. A.F.
A Selling Handicap of 15 sovs each, 10 ft. for three year
olds and upwards ; the winner to be sold for 200 sovs if
demanded, &c. R.M.
The Optional Selling Stakes of 5 sovs each, with 25 added,
for two year olds ; colts Bst 121 b, fillies Bst 81b ; the
winner to be sold for 250 sovs; if entered for 200 sovs
allowed 51b, 150 101 b, 100 161 b, GO 211 b. T.Y.C.
A. Sweepstakes of 10 sovs each; three year old Bst 21b,
four Bst 101 b, five and upwards Ost; fillies allowed 31b ;
the winner to be sold for 80 sovs if demanded, &o.
T.Y.C.
The Cambridgeshire Stakes (Handicap) of 25 sovs each,
10 ft, and only 5 if declared, with 100 added by the
Jockey Club.
wee ps takes of 200 sovs each, h ft, for two year old
colts; Bst 101 b each ; last seven furlongs of R.M. ; 5
subs.