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Leader (1850-1860), 24th December 1853, Edition 1 of 2, Page 1229, Untitled Article

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      sive or i rksomeness ; there came the pleasurabledevelopment of skill aad ingenuity . YVhy should we not , then , put the labourer and the . mechanic in the case of developing his skill » nd ingenuity * and thus enable him . to sweeten also his daily toil ? At fres » t he drudged through bis allotted task more like a inachine than an intelligent being . He just did what pthers fead ^ dope before him , be knew not why ; but inform his minrt , bring his head to bear as well as his bands ; to the j &eastirable excitement of developed ingenuity and contrivance add the still more pleasurable consciousness of excited f > ower ; let him feel that he was , out of his own resources , mastering difficulties amd inventing new processes , and that * nan would raise his head more proudly , Jie would feel tJ > e self-respect of a higher occupation , he would put his heart into his work , he would do what he did

      better , tie would . earn not only more fur - himself , but more for his master and for his country , through his increased skill , and , lastly , he would thereby he enabled to meet the foreigner in that ( free-trade competitaouwhich our ignorant Jistlessness so little fitted us at present to engage in . The operatives of our ^ reat towns had long felt the degradation ot the mechanical drudgery to which they thought themselves condemned , they felt a craving for some intellectual pursuit which 8 honi 4 beguile its monotony , but their struggles for relief IumI taken a wrong direction . They had soug ht to develope their understandings in something out of , and above , their daily occupation ; instead of first mastering the principles which govern its exercise , they had

      thought only of quitting their own sphere under the notion that they could only raise themselves by doing that which those above them did , and learning that which those above them learned ; whereas that which really elevated a man was the cultivation of mind , which followed upon its enlightened application to his work . They were like Naaman , the Syrian , who scorned the little stream at his feet , and would fain go off to Abana and Pharphar rivers of the distant Damascus , to find a remedy for _ his affliction . Having given them this inadequate exposition of the advantages to be derived from the knowledge of common things , he would now proceed to inform them why he had distinguished , in the assignment of prizes , the merits

      of the scholar and of the teacher . He had done so in order to familiarise to the youngest among them this important truth—that no knowledge , however profound , could constitute a teacher . A teacher must have knowledge as an orator , must have knowledge as a builder must have the materials with which he was io build ; but , as in choosing the fcuilder of his house he did not select the man who had most materials in his yard , but having satisfied himself that he had enough for his purposes , proceeded to select him by reference to his skill , ingenuity , and taste , so also in testiag « n orator or a teacher he satisfied himself that he fulfilled the comparatively easy condition of possessing sufficient

      materials of knowledge wjth which to work , and be looked then to those high and noble qualities which were the characteristics of his peculiar calling . There were hundreds at Athens who knew more than Demosthenes ; thousands that knew more at Rome than Cicero ; but there was but one Demosthenes and one Cicero . Who , in speaking of these great men , spoke of their knowledge ? For these reasons neither would men speak of knowledge as the essential attribute of the teacher . Their business included an important part of oratory j- they had not , indeed , to work on the passions ; they had not to snbdue an antagonist , but they had to reduce their ideas into the simplest and most elementary form ; they had to cultivate the power of illustration ; they

      must he fluent , simple , graphic , animated , judicious , patient ; they must , moreover , have an intimate knowledge of the class they addressed . It was not enough that they should rear a new edifice of fresh knowledge on the surface of tho child ' s mind such as they found it . Before they attempted to build they must probe that surface , ascertain its nature , clear away rubbish , jf any such existed , with tho view of working on a sure and lasting foundation . Again , they must not build too fust , lest tho work crumble as they proceeded . Tho mere scholar find no perception of all this ; he possessed , indeed , the materials , but he knew neither where , nor how , nor when to use them ; his knowledgo was

      confined to himself alone , while the teacher placed himsclt at once , b y instinctive faculty , in mental relation with every « hiM of Ins class . He was anxious , therefore , to impress on their minds that an acquaintance with the subjects they had to teach formed but a small part of the qualifications which , as teachers , they had to acquire . He wished to warn them against the mistake of expending upon unnecessary attainments time which ought to be devoted to the essential attributes of their especial culling . It remained for him only to inform thorn that a syllabus of topics for the first examination would bo furnished , to all who were qualified to com-Peto for the prizes . They would observe that ho asked for no facts i ho asked for tho principles which were to govern

      ' » uion . His object was also to stimulate the pupil to observe UI yl Collect facta for himself , which , however trifling they f ^ ght be in intrinsic value , would still havo exercised and unproved tho mind by tho exertion their acquisition bad « uled forth . They were all , however , too much disposed to <|« npi , Uttlo gains , yet , littles money gains store most wealth ; "ttlo moral gains triumph over petty temptationa—mado 1110 firmest characters . « o , also , littlo intellectual gains , "iiido hour by hour , and minute by minute , at every step in "ic ^ -the rosult of curly habit and wise education—uitl more ' ¦ ° npon th 0 intellect , ami oven to mature tho character , than 'lny instruction that could bo hammered in'from without .

      « was given to tho teachers of tho rising generation to bond "fir ininda in this direction . Tho misery which could » bo 'eiaedicd by tho charity of rich men was purely physical ; " ! ° ° hef could extend only to few , it licit her elevated those " . ° < w . oived it nor their children after them ; but tho "" scry whiuh tho teacher coidd avert by substituting wlfij ' J ! ° rt nnd Bclf-roHpeot for dependence and beggary had no pr to itB "mount—it multiplied blessings both on the 1 Bcnt U 11 ( l on succeeding generations . " t rili « eloquent address wan listened to with eager Htentionj and tho reverend gentlemen present rose

      in succession and uttered warm commendations ; and Mr . Clark , one of the students , thanked Lord Ashburton in a brief speech- It is certainly an event in the educational movement .

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      LETTERS FROM PARIS . ' „ . Letter CIV . Paris , Thursday Evening , Dec . 22 , 1853 . The Bourse has been in consternation for the last three days . The report of the entrance of the combined fleets into the Black Sea determined a considerable fall . The tenth of this month is the day named as that on which the decisive step -was taken . Now it was precisely on the 10 th inst . that Bonaparte despatched his famous courier , the tenor of whose despatches nobody knows . If that courier , as everybody assumes here , was charged with orders to the

      fleet to advance , he "will find his orders already in the course of execution . But if , as I still persist in believing against all the world , his instructions are to arrest the fleet , he will still be in time to give counter orders : in that case , the fleet will have to return to Constantinople , to the disgrace of France and England , but to the infinite satisfaction of the bankers and the stockjobbers . The old Bonapartists are all for war : they mean mischief . Persigny , and the rest , taking their wishes for realities , publish their hopes as if they were accomplished facts : they proclaim aloud that orders have been sent to burn Sebastopol .

      I hey assert that Bonaparte has quite made up his mind to act , and that when he was asked whether the fleet would move , he made no secret of replying yes . Now , on the other hand , I know pertinently that he lately said to a person whose name I need not mention , only three days since , "Ican ' tgo to war : war would be the revolution let loose over all Europe : war would be my ruin . " What I know equally well is , that for the last ten days there have not been the least symptoms of preparing for war . I wrote to a friend of mine , a captain in the 45 th , at Marseilles , and this morning have received his answer : he says there have been no orders received at Toulon nor at

      Marseilles , nor at any of the neighbouring garrisons . The army is , I believe , profoundly indignant at not receiving marching orders . At Lyons the officers crack their jokes publicly enough about the " Napoleon of Peace ; " they shower sarcasms upon the Emperor , and this too in the presence of General Castellane , at his own table . Not only does General Castellane not punish these ribald scoffers , he is the first to laugh at their . pleasantries .

      M . de Kisseleif , too , who was said to be packing up , is doing nothing of the kind . On Monday last he was received by the Emperor in private audience . If lie remains at his post , surely it is because he has received assurances from Bonaparte that the fleets will be recalled , or at all events that they arc forbidden to attack the Russians . Meanwhile , everybody here , in Paris , believes in the reports of energetic resolutions , while nothing but imbecility is going on . Another fact confirms mo in my opinion . It is now known that the Austrian Government , the first to learn the disaster of Sinope through the

      Russian Ambassador at Vienna , stopped the news until through the telegraph they had received satisfactory assurances from the French and English Cabinets of their pacific dispositions—until , in fact , Bonaparte and Lord Aberdeen had assured them that the massacre of the Turks would not at all modify their disposition to peace . France and England have given their word that they will not act . Whatever may be the truth about the affair at Sinope , there are people here who think it astonishing that the Russians should attack the Turks , burn a squadron , and destroy a port . For my own part ,

      I consider the Russians acted very naturally . War is war ; it does not consist in sending invitations to balls to the enemy , but simply of shells and bullets , if the Russians were to tako advantage of the departure of the fleets from Constantinople to advance to the capital , and bombard the city in the teeth of tho half-a-dozen line-of-battle ships which we havo been foolish enough , speaking in a military sense , to leave for its protection , I should be unable to protest ; it would simply appear * to mo sin excellent manoeuvre . If , indeed , the fleets havo left Con-Btantinople , unless they have only gono to make

      a ridiculous " demonstration , " they must have moved for one of two purposes : to protect tho Turks , or to punish tho Russians . In either case there may bo a collision . In either case the combined fleets ought to act with their whole forces . If while the two fleets were searching for it , tho Russian fleet were to sneak into tho BosphoriiH , attack and uink the six ships left for a defence , and then proceed to Constantinople , burn it , and land 30 000 men , which would be tho winner then ? What all history from tho creation of the world proves inefluceably i » , that half measures , conceived by dwarfish men , arc ever disastrous ; that in tho

      present emergency it were better at once to recal the fleets to Malta and Toulon—by this means the financial world would still have fifteen years of peace , and England fifteen years existence before Russia devours her with all the Continent —> or to make war at once and in earnest with all the forces of which England and France united can dispose . Now neither will be done ; iiistead of mastering and commanding events , the ' pigmy Governments will float down the stream , like straws on the current , to be swept away at last ; And thus the two Powers , who pursue peajce at all price , are dragged into war unwittingly and unwillingly .

      Nevertheless the Russians do not seem to feel at all sure that France and England may not be roused to avenge the massacre of Sinope . They endeavour by every means to mystify and mislead public opinion as to the causes of that catastrophe . They preteud that they knew perfectly well that the Turkish squadron was destined to make a descent upon the Crimea , and therefore that in destroying that squadron they only acted in self-defence . They even spread the report that there has been an insurrection in Crimea in favour of the Turks .

      En attendant , they are chanting Te Deums in all their churches , and redoubling their attacks on the banks of the Danube . They have simultaneously attacked Kalafat on their right , Routscoruk iu their centre , and Matschin , opposite to Brailow , on their left . At the last point they were repulsed ; but it is stated that the attack on Routscoruk , or rather on an island between Giurgevo and that town was successful , that they threw a bridge across , and were preparing to cross the Danube at that spot on the 18 th inst . If the Danube is frozen , as is affirmed , the passage will , of course , be an easier affair . Important events may , I think , be expected in that direction .

      In France the crisis continues . Failures are beginning to be heard of at Paris . It could scarcely be otherwise in the present state of trar ' e . Little or no business , reduced discounts , exorbitant liabilities , excessive expenses , and extravagantly high rent , such is the state of every house of business in Paris . The advance in the prices of grain has resumed again ; and that is a bad sign enough . For instance * the | 30 th of November ( St . Andrew ' s-day ) is the customary agricultural rent-day in France . To find cash for their landlords , the farmers are in the habit at this season of the year of throwing large quantities of wheat on the market . This year nothing of the kind has occurred . Instead of wheat falling in price at St . Andrew ' s-day , it has been rising . Hence it is concluded that a considerable deficit in production must exist .

      There have been more arrests again this last fortnight . They have all fallen on clerks of offices , and 1 shopmen . I cannot conceive the cause of such ? arrests . Those poor creatures have seldom any political opinions to curse themselves with . All I can say is , that about fifty of them have been lately arrested—for the salvation of poor Society we must needs presume . S .

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      CONTINENTAL NOTES . The Journal des Debuts and the Patrie give the following as the text of the protocol signed on Dec . 5 , at Vienna , by the representatives of the Four Great Powers : — " The undersigned , representatives of Austria , France , Great Britain , and 1 ' russia , in conformity with the . instructions of their Courts , havo assembled at a conference for the purpose of Keeking out means of arranging the difference which has arisen between the Court of Kussiu and the Sublime Porte . The proportions which that dittl-rence lias assumed , and the war which lia . s burst out between tho two empires , in spito of the oflbrts of their allies , have become for all Europe the object of most serious pre-occupations ; in consequence , tho Emperor of Austria , tho Emperor of tho French , the Queen of limit Britain , and tho King of Prussia , equally T >« netrnte ( l with tho necessity of putting an mid to witnout /

      these hostilities , which cannot b « prolonged meeting tho interests of ' their own slates , have resolved to oiler their good ofiiees to the two belligerent parties , in the hono that they would not themselves incur tlic responsibility of a conflagration , when 1 )/ a » oxchango of loyal explanations they may still prevent it , i' » again placing their relations on tho footing of puico » ll ( i of " f > understanding . The assurances given on several occasions by the Emporor of Uussia exclude tho idea that that august sovereign enterrniiiH nny wish to interfere with the integrity of the Ottoman Umpire . The existence of Turkey , in ) Lhe limits which treaties have assigned to Jior . has in fact become ono of tho nocenuary conditions of tho European equilibrium , and the undernmned plenipotentiaries declare witli satisfaction that the present war cannot in any ease involvo modifications in tho territorial circumscriptions of the two empires , calculated to jilti-r the state of possession which time has consecrated in

      tho east , and which is equally neccswiry lor tue tranquillity of all the oth « r powers . Tho Emperor of Kusttiu , besides , hut ) not confined himself to such assurances , but has declared that hitt intention had never been to impose on tho Porto now obligations , or any that wore not oxactlv in conformity with tho treaties of Kntclmclc Kainardji and Adrianoplo , according to which tho Sublime Porto lias promised to protect in tho whole extent

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      ^ DggEMBJER 24 , 185 & ~] THE LEADER . l £ § 9

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 24, 1853, page 1229, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2018/page/5/