The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-13 00:00:00

down to, if he dare with liberal politics and freedom
of inquiry in religion devote great powers, with un-
wearied industry and indefatigable research, to the
pursuit of scientific knowledge, and to acquiring the
ability to elevate and instruct with th most sublime
knowledge the minds of his countrymen. The citi-
zens of London may be tempted to repay Lord
Brougham some of this scorn and contempt when
they see him, the pretended patron of science, wishing
them to place their sons under professors for whom
he and his council have so miserably provided. The
English are neither a poor nor a stingy people. If
they want an article, convince them it is good, and
they will pay for it.
The fact is that the education required for the
middle order of England is not that of the old univer-
sities. It is one which can only be planned by men
of great minds, vast attainments, noble hearted, and
with abundant leisure. The country possesses such
men, and can afford to employ them as a council for
education. But who are the council of the joint-
stock failure ? What are their qualifications
to plan a new arrangement of the objects of study,
what leisure can they devote to the conside-
ration of the affairs of the University, or do they
leave the affairs of the greatest importance mainly in
the hands of an omniscient official ? Grant that the
council provides adequate professors, secures their
entire devotion, retains them year after year—all is
not done. The council may still be as the statuary,
infelix operis summit quia ponere totem nesciet. What
due encouragement can they hold out to the pupils,
what influence and authority are they enabled to
exert ? And is it unreasonable to ask that these in-
quiries should be made before the scorn and contempt
are patiently endured?
Never did an order of men better deserve a good
education for their sons than the middle order of
England, and never were men so shamefully ne-
glected. Never did there exist an order of men who
conferred greater blessings on the world, or who
wielded greater powers. Educate them or not, they
will act. The potentates of Asia may bow their
heads to the Ruler over sovereigns and the Emperor
of countless millions, but a few of our merchants can
instantly convert him into a feeble old dandy.
Converse with the officers in our merchant navy,
with our master ship-builders, with our engineers and
mechanicians, and how are you smitten with dismay
and shame at the utter neglect of these most merito-
rious men ? It is infamous. Look at our burdens ;
if we want a pound of tea we must pay for more than
two ; if a pound of sugar, more than three ; but it is
useless to allude to them. They are well known.
We are a loyal and patriotic race ; but no people can
be named who deserve so much, none who receive so
little parental regard from those who ought to govern
them. Are matters thus in New England, are they
so in Prussia ? Look ; and is it wise to force us to
look there for an example of what we want? Are
our rulers already demented, that they neglect the
strong bond of gratitude a father feels who sees the
nation has provided a suitable education for his sons,
leaving the father the pleasing task of paying for it ?
Look, however, if we must see how such things should
be done, to revolutionary France. See how the Poly-
technic
School was planned and worked. Compare
with anything that has been done for the middle
orders in England the Ecole Normale of the
year ] 795. Among the men employed we find
Lagrange and Laplace, for Mathematics; Mon e, for
Descriptive Geometry ; Hatiy, for Natural Philo-
sophy ; Lacroix and llachettee, for assistant pro-
fessors, with others, men of great eminence in dif-
ferent departments of instruction. Fifty years have
elapsed, and what have we done that can bear a com-
parison ? On descriptive geometry I do not know a
work in English except that abortion of Professor
Halls, a poor translation of a part of a French work.
What English work on mechanics would Lord
Brougham recommend for the instruction of an Eng-
lish engineer ? Would he insult us by naming the
treatise published by the Society for the Diffusion of
Useful Knowledge ? The best attempt I have seen,
very good, considering how little of the French ma-
thematics was then known in England, is a work, pub-
lished by Mr. parrot, at Boston. The book was
highly praised by Rennie, Hutton, Barlow, and Gre-
gory. The author was, at a later period of life, Pro-
fessor of Mathematics in the Royal Institution in Li-
verpool, and subsequently in the Mechanics' Institu-
tion. He taught, also, in some of the first families in
Liverpool, and enjoyed the acquaintance and respect
of Woodhouse, and some of our ablest English mathe-
maticians. He is now upwards of seventy years of
age, with a strong body, vigorous mind, and inde-
pendent spirit, and solaces himself in conversing with
Newton and Laplace. lie earns his livelihood by
selling old books from a stall.
Such objects are useful as scareboys. They must
effectually deter boys from any propensity to pursue
• the study of the severe sciences—
" So human for their use, for knowledge so divine."

The English people are sadly ignorant and neg-
lectful of science. In vain have Babbage and Herschel
lamented the " Decline of Science in England." The
evil cannot be removed by diffusing through the coun-
try contemptible treatises, nor by employing unpaid
teachers and professors. lam persuaded the work
must be taken up nationally. Why will not our great
men duly despise the hisses and yells, and barkings of
bigotry, and earn for themselves eternal fame by
organizing a national system of -education? The
Liberal party, it is true, are at preseat in
a state very little fit for any great work,
they are anti-everything and anti-one-another.
But this greatest and grandest of all works
need not be made a party question. Sir Ro-
bert Peel and Lord John Russell can agree and act
together in providing singing-masters for the mil-
lion, and in the encouragement of painters, sculptors,
and architects ;—can they not unite in raising to the
rank of an honourable profession those men of
science and literature who are engaged as the in-
structors of the sons of the middle order and of the
industrious classes ? It is refreshing and encourag-
ing to turn back and read the history of the men who
formed the Royal Society. A speech of Sir Robert
Peel's, delivered at Tamworth, gives us fair reason to
hope that he would heartily unite with Lord John
Russell in raising the countrymen of Wren, Halley,
and Newton above unmerited scorn and contempt,
but, what is infinitely more important, to prepare the
English people to use wisely, justly, and generously
the great power and influence they possess.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
AN ENGLISH MECHANIC.

His Royal Highness Prince Albert, attended by Col.
Wilde, paid a private visit on Friday to the London Library
in Pall-mall, of which his Royal Highness is the patron.
lie was received by the President of the Institution, the Earl
of Clarendon, and by Lord Lyttelton, Mr. Hallam, the Rev.
Mr. Milman, and Mr. G. C. Lewis, members of the Com-
mittee. Ilis Royal highness went through the suite of
rooms containing the library, examining the books, and
making inquiries and remarks, exhibiting an extensive ac-
quaintance with general literature. His Royal Highness on
departing, after remaining upwards of an hour, expressed his
great pleasure with what he had seen, and his satisfaction
with the progress the library had made.
TIIE PIERS IN DANGER..—About four o'clock on
Friday morning the river Thames, near to London-bridge,
presented an extraordinary scene, arising from an order
issued by the Lord Mayor to the City police to remove the
watermen's pier at Fishmongers'-hall-stairs. Accordingly,
at the above hour, twenty of the City police, under the su-
perintendence of Inspector 'Waller, armed with hatchets,
saws, and other implements, proceeded to the above pier,
and, by the direction of the water-bailii* (Mr. Saunders), in
a very short time cut the pier away, the men belonging to
the Watermen's Company looking on in mute astonishment.
The pier was then removed for the present to the foot
of the steps leading from London-bridge to the river. It
appears that, owing to the numerous boats stopping en and
about the wharfs in Upper Thames-street, the owners of the
different Companies have been extending the piers so far into
the river as to impede the navigation, and as the Waterman's
boats are by far the largest, the pier was further extended,
and it being placed without license from the Navigation
Committee, an order was issued by the Lord Mayor for its
immediate removal. A notice has also been served on all the
' Steam Companies to decrease the length of the different piers
by seven feet, so as to enable barges and other craft to go
through the near arches of London-bridge, and which regu-
lation is to come into immediate operation.
SHOCKING ACCIDENT.—About two o'clock on
Wednesday afternoon, a serious accident occurred at
Mr. Bimson's, Clarendon Brook Forge, near Wigan. A
man named John Bennett, a workman at the Forge,
was adjusting a strap connected with one of the grind-
stones, when unfortunately his arm was caught by it, and
he was taken through a hole in the wall along with the
strap, and so dreadfully injured that his life is despaired
of. The poor fellow had his right arm torn off, his
right leg broken, and his head severely injured. lie
was conveyed to his residence in Millgate, Wigan, where
he now lies.