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TlT&e most prominent matter for discaesi...
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¦ AND NATIONAL TRADES r JOUHML. 1
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WL.I?. So.740. LONDOK, SATCBDAY, JAHOABY 10^52. ^^ JS^SS^.
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RUMOURED MINISTERIAL CHANGES. On Wednesd...
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Thb Hungarian Cause in England and Ameri...
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THE TYRANNY OF CAPITAL . TO THE WORKING ...
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Tub Monmouthshire Boroughs.—In addition ...
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THE MANCHESTER PUBLIC SCHOOL ASSOCIATION...
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LATEST INTELLIGENCE.. ' ... ',.:; NORTHE...
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THE ENGINEERS AND THEIR EMPLOYERS. Yeste...
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Respite for Sarah Ann Hills.—We are info...
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LATEST FOREIGN NEWS. FRANCE. RELEASE OF ...
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Explosion of Fiuk-Damp.—Recovery of Two ...
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Tlt&E Most Prominent Matter For Discaesi...
TlT & e most prominent matter for discaesion since nnnnr last iseue has been the retirement of Lord Pal-HEHEBSTON . "Wh y lie went oat , when he will come in , n , and what he will he when he does come in , have HCCTCcopied a large share of public attention . With reripeipect to the first question , we are still in the dark , irhfhereare all sorts of rumours on the subject ; which aireire not likely to cease till the Noble Viscount himself ,
pin In his place in Parliament , favours the public—as he iisp ' spretty sure to do—with a damaging expose of the tbicbictcerings , animosities , and incapability of the 'Happy IFaFamily' who are Her Majesty ' s Ministers . As to Ithfthe other queries , there seems to be a growing opinion 1 th : that the late Secretary forForeign Affairs will , before lloilong , occupy the place of the colleague -who so ; atabruptl y sent him adrift on the sea of political Bt strife .
"Whatever may be the opinion as to the intentions ai and the actions of Lord . Palsiebston , no one will d ( deny that he is a man of great ability and consumir mate tact In losing . him , the Cabinet lose by far it its most able member , audit is difficult to imagine h bow it can retain its position when deprived of his p powerful aid , and subjected to his fierce opposition . I In that case , one thing ia certain—that it could not e exist confined to the present aristocratic clique . Somali body must be called in to share power , in order to
s avert its total loss . This has given rise to negotia-1 tinns upon the part of Her Majesty ' s principal ad-- "riser with the Duke ofNEWCAsitE , Mr . Cahdwell , I Sir James Graham , and soma others , whose names ' . hare been mentioned ; and it seemed probable that for a time the tottering fortunes of the Whig dynasty ' would be staved ap by Conservative props . Thisau-I gured badly for the promised New Reform Bill , which , under the auspices of such sponsors , would have been as hollow a mockery aa the Constitution of Louis
Napoleon . It appears , however—if the latest accounts at the moment we write are to be trusted—that we are for yet a little longer to be spared the shame of seeing the Post Office spy—the Mazzinx letter opener •—disgrace the Home Office ; for it is said , that the overtures of Lord John Russeu . have been rejected , and that schisms have broken out among Ministers themselves which herald a speedy dissolution of the Cabinet If this be true , Lord John Russell takes a long leave of that power which he has proved himself so utterly incapable to wield with effect .
Such a defeat of the Whigs would , no doubt , ultimately be a great good , whatever might be its immediate effects . The resources of the country have been shamefully misused and wasted , its progress impeded , and its welfare perilled , by successive batches of aristocratic incapables—men whose only qualification is that they have been born into the ranks which have mainly monopolised the power to rale . Of Whi gs and Tories we are inclined to say , in the language of Mercutio , * a plague on both your houses . ' And every successive defeat of the hereditary factionsevery new proof of their incapacity to sway the destinies of a country—saps their power , diminishes
their prestiges , and hastens forward the time when the nation will be governed by men from the ranks of the people—educated amid the struggles of life—understanding the wants of the masses , and possessed of sufficient practical knowledge and energy to overcome the difficulties which cumber the path of rulers . But though we are approaching toward that , the time for it has not actually arrived , and we cannot hold out any well-founded hope that the next Cabinet will be of such a kind as to demand or deserve the full
confidence and support of the public . It will not of course be a Tory Cabinet , for that party is as unable to hold office no as it was when the Whigs were suffered to retain it by sufferance a few months ago . It will not be a coalition of Tories and Conservatives , for those two parties hate each other with all the fervency of kindred at strife , or estranged friends , or parted lovers . It has been well said , that there is no hate like love to hatred turned , and that aptly illustrates , the feelings of the old Protectionists , and those who followed the banner of Peel . It will not be a Cabinet
of Conservatives , for they alone are almost as powerless and unable to face a House of Commons as the Tories themselves . It will not be a Cabinet of pure Whigs , for the Greys at least are anxious , it is reported , to escape from the difficulties which they have gathered around their position . Yet , for once in the history of the world , It Is said that the marvel has come to pass , of even Whigs being either frightened at the responsibility , or worried by the difficulties , or tired of the badgering , opprobrium , ingominy and contempt which beset incapables in office . It will not be a Cabinet of the Manchester School , for official power has not yet moved so far towards
the people . What on earth will it be then ? some of our readers may exclaim , after that long drawn out string of negatives . There are two methods at least of arriving at a conclusion , one by a direct affirmative , the other by the process of exhaustion , by continual negatives . When we know what a thing is not , we are somewhat nearer towards divining what it is ; and if we were to venture a prophesy , -we should be disposed to say , that if Lord John Russell does go out of office now he will be succeeded by Lord Palmeeston , as first Lord of the Tbeasukt ; and that the new Prime Minister would call in some of the Free Traders to leaven a
sprinkling of aristocracy , and give a business-like air to the Governmental benches ; that if Lord John Russell does not quickly vacate , he will be unceremoniously pushed from his stool ; and that if he does at the last moment succeed in tinkering up a conservative alliance , it will not stand the wear and tear of half a Session . On the eventualities which the advent of Lord Palmerston to the hi ghest place would bring about , we are not inclined just now to speculate . The timid would see in the foreground the phantom of another European war ; but ' sufficient for the day is the evil thereof . '
Next to the crisis in state affairs the Kaffir War takes up a prominent position . Mail after mail brings home the news of abortive patrols against rocfcs and bushes , from behind which the Kaffir marksman , and the Hottentots we have trained to fight us , pick off the best men and officers with as much security from danger as a hunter drops a deer . The old story of that King of Spain in France—we really at the moment forget which—who marched up the hill with ten thousand men , and then so valorously marched down again , is being repeated by British generals and British troops with serious aggravations . For while the aforesaid doughty warrior does not
appear to have been molested , our soldiers march aboutapparentlyforthepleasnreofbeingshot . Month after month Sir Harry Smith , sitting uneasily at his ease—if we may use the expression—in King William ' s Town , calls lustily for more troops and for more burghers to stay . the savage enemy ; but the burghers do not come , and although fresh supports of devoted red-coated targets are sent out to answer the appeal for help , Sir Harry still nestles in his quarters as though that ride of his from Fort Cat , where the * Great Father' was nearly caught by'his rebellious children , had increased his appetite for safety . Seriously , if it were not a tragedy—if the reports of
the killed and wounded did not invest the affair with solemn interest it would be ludicrous ; but the blood of good soldiers is uselessl y spilt , and treasures which might have set thousands of poor to work , and made hundreds of acres of waste land fertile , is wasted in a barbarian warfare , resulting directly from the imbecility of the Colonial Office . The whole of the events show , in their most striking light , the inefficiency of our management both civil and military . So disgusted are the Colonists with the Geey rule , that they declare the attempt to organise burgher forces
would besimplyridiculous , under the present system ; and they seem to declare that they will not attempt it And in the military department it turns out that our soldiers , even when numerically superior , are unable to cope with the Kaffirs from the badness of their arms and organisation . Just think of that . The flower of the British army , commanded by the hero of Aliwal , are incompetent to subdue half naked barbarians . The troopers are too big for their horses ; and when mounted on Cape ponies are about as formidable as a Blackheath pleasure goer upon
a donkey . The foot soldiers are even in a worse plight if that be possible . We take great pains to catch a raw recruit , to drill him , to fatten him up into strength and vigour , to make him a wonderfully perfect man killing machine ; and when we have done all this at an enormous cost we put him into a red and white , or a red and gold coat—make him look as muchlike a target as possible , so that the enemyshali not mi 6 shim ; and to complete his capability , arm him with a ten-shining musket and bayonet , the latter so
Tlt&E Most Prominent Matter For Discaesi...
clumsy as to make his firelock top heavy , the former constructed so as to render it about as formidable to himself as the foe , for we are told that the trigger pulls so stiffly as to prevent taking a proper aim . The propelling power is so inefficient that its range is absurdly short ; the construction of the breach is so bad , that the direction of the bullet ia eminently uncertain , and the recoil so heavy , that while the man misses bis mark the butt bruises him ; We suppose , that with this catalogue of errors we must submit to be laughed at to be beaten , and to speak figuratively , eaten up by the Kaffirs , till a wiser and more capable , and common-sense government assumes the reins of office .
. A fearful tragedy nearer home has marked the week . The West India Mail Company have been peculiarly unfortunate with their steamers , having , at various times , lost some eight or nine of them , but the most fearful calamity of all is the recent wreck of the Amazon , which has spread the deepest grief over all classes of society . That occurrence was attended with some remarkable circumstances . The Amazon was a new ship . It is but a Tew weeks , at most , since she left the river . She was the . most splendid vessel the Company had ever built . She was of the greatest size , constructed with the greatest care , and upon the best principles , and upon her machinery all
the appliances of engineering skill and science were lavished . Complete as the vessel was , her crew , of somewhere about a hundred hands , was at least as efficient . A captain of tried ability and courage , selected for his unquestioned fitness , was selected ; the officers , seamen , and engineers , were picked men ; and nothing but one thing—to which we shall presently allude—was left undone to secure the safe transit across the ocean of the fifty passengers and costly freight with -which she was laden .. A short time brings back the dismal intelligence that the Amazon had been burnt at sea , and that out of the
141 human beings who were on board only some forty are saved . No pen can describe the horrors of that scene when the fire bursting forth from between decks , and enveloping the fated ship with a speed which paralysed all efforts to check it The passengers , roused from their sleep , rushed upon deck , and their terror added to the general confusion . Amid all this , it is no wonder that the boats , hurriedly launched into a heavy sea , vere swamped , and many fleeing from fire perished by water : the only wonder is that so many escaped . But , we would ask , was all this the result of an unavoidable accident ? We
think not . The majority of the accounts go to show that the fire originated near the engines ; and the cause is , with great probability , ascribed to the heat caused by the stiff working of the new machinery . Before that the engines had been stopped twice to allow the heated bearings time to cool : ought not this to have been foreseen . It is reported , that in her trial near Southampton , in comparatively , smooth water , the engines were more than once stopped for the same reason . If that happened there , surely the
most ordinary exercise of judgment would have told those in authority that the same thing would occur with even greater certainty when the machinery was called on to force the vessel through a heavy sea . But , either the judgment was not exercised , or its warnings were disregarded : the doomed ship was carried off before her engines were in proper working order . She took fire , burned like tinder , and upwards of one hundred lives were sacrificed . It is possible that the time will come when such occurrences will
no longer be regarded as accidents . Of Foreign matters we have but little to say . The solemn farce of thanksgiving , offered up by an Unwilling Archbishop at Notre Dame , " has been enacted . There has been the expected amount of feasting . The fish women of the Halle have been petted . A certain number of hired voices have shouted Vive Napoleon , ' and ' Vive l'Empereur . ' The great mass of the people gagged , coerced , terrorstricken , have looked on in abject sullen , almost stupid silence , and the promised Constitution , beset by greater difficulties than the usurper counted on , has not yet made its appearance .
While France is waiting for its Constitution Austria has lost hers , or , rather , so much as remained of it . A Royal Ordinance has abolished it at one fell swoop , and inaugurated , in its full force , the policy of Metternich . Meanwhile , the state of the finances is growing hopelessly bad . Bankruptcy presses bard upon the heels of despotism ; the Finance Minister has been dismissed , and a new loan is talked of before the old one is well completed . For the rest , it is but the old story of marching of troops and courts-martial here and there , amid the storm which is so inevitably gathering over Europe .
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¦ And National Trades R Jouhml. 1
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Wl.I?. So.740. Londok, Satcbday, Jahoaby 10^52. ^^ Js^Ss^.
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Rumoured Ministerial Changes. On Wednesd...
RUMOURED MINISTERIAL CHANGES . On Wednesday evening the rumour was very general that Lord John Russell had decided upon the changes to be made in his ministry . In cases of this hind , it is , of course , impossible for anything short of a ministerial manifesto to convey the exact ) and authentic particulars of the contemplated alterations . In such times as these , however , the public lock naturally to the newspapers for such indications as may be in existence , tending to show what may be expected . To meet this natural anxiety we give the latest on dit ; with the full and complete preliminary explanation that only as the most prevalent rumour can the following be received . "With this preface , it may be stated that Sir James Graham had on Wednesday an interview with Lord John Russell , and it is very generally understood that the negotiations in progress have for their object the formation
of a Conservative-Whig Cabinet—a negotiation which , if successful , would in all probability involve an early dissolution of parliament . It is proposed that Lord Lansdowne , lard Broughton , Mr . Labouchere , and Sir F . Baring should resign ; To be replaced by Sir James Graham , as First Lord of the Admiralty ; The Duke of Seweastle , as President of the Board of Control ; Sidney Herbert , as Paymaster of the Forces , with a seat ia the cabinet ; and Mr . Gladstone , as President of the Board of Trade , ^ Who would succeed Lord Lansdowne is not stated !" *"
Whether all this is entitled to be regarded as anything more than club talk , the lapse of a short time will in all probability determine . —Daily News . At the clubs last night ( Wednesday ) it was in every ones mouth that Sir George Grey would be immediately called to the Peerage . It is a fact that Sir James Graham is in town . Putting this and that together , it is not impossible that the Government may make a death-struggle to meet parliament . Morning Herald .
Thb Hungarian Cause In England And Ameri...
Thb Hungarian Cause in England and America , — Lord Dudley Stuart has written to the " Daily News , enclosing a letter from Professor Francis Newman , in reference to the Hungarian refugees now in London . The Professor says they are 161 in number , and asks , whether there are not 161 householders wane jmragh in the cause of Hungary and humanity , to afford these distressed gentlemen a sleepingroom each . He says truly , that scanty maintenance from the subscriptions , which come in slowly , is degrading and painful : and he adds , "I am persuaded that the system of centralisation is here , as in everything else , demoralising ; and that the only « ay , happy to him who gives and to him who receives , is that of quartering individuals locally . '' Mr . Toulmin Smith , zealous for the reputation of Kossuth for " foresight and watchfulness , " says that £ 520 was paid over to the emigrants , by Kossuth ' s direction , on the 26 th of November Ja * t , besides £ 200 yielded by the Guildhall ball ; that the number of emigrants is not so large as that stated , and that the money cannot have been vet expended .
Thriving in Prison . —A woman was recently discharged from one of the Cumberland prisons , who had grown so f « t while itt durance that , the Burgeon was afraid , she would actually lose the sight of an eye from mere obesity , and he had put a seton through the back of her neck , to prevent such a catastrophe . Jdsticks of the Peace —In England there are 18 , 742 justices in the commission of the peace , and 7 , 308 of them have qualified . In Wales there are 1 , 950 in the commission of whom 857 have qualified . In Ireland the number in the commission is 3 , 095 , and 3 , 188 have qualified . There are 1 645 borough magistrates in England and Wales , and in Ireland 169 , There are only 28 stipendiary or paid magistrates in Eng land and Wales , and 71 in Ireland . In Scotland there are 201 persons exercising magisterial functions of whom 390 are paid , and 11 unpaid .
The Tyranny Of Capital . To The Working ...
THE TYRANNY OF CAPITAL . TO THE WORKING MEN OF ENGLAND . Mb . Editor , —With the cause of Labour you are identified . I . dedicate this letter to that interest ( not because you are its able exponent , but because in your paper the truth may . be undisguiaedly published ) , which is now threatened , almost to annihilation , by a combination of masters , who are what they are in position in society , simply through the bodily and mental exertions of those whose liberty of speech and independentaction they now would mercilessl y destroy . This ia the tyranny of Capital . Labour is declared
by these task-masters to be in a state of siege ; and on the 12 th of January their coup d'etat will be consummated—with Sidney Smith as the Morny or chief mover of the proceedings . The proclamations of these English Capitalists , after proudly boasting of the numbers they employ y declare , with all the arrogance possible , that on the day named 10 , 000 men will be absolutely denied further work . What for ? They are as willing as ever to produce their tale of bricks ! but this is not enough . ;* If they be not driven to make 'bricks without straw , ' they are called upon to do that which would be equivalent to the same thing ultimately—viz ., an impossibility , in surrendering body and soul to the demands of Work , Work , never-ceasing Work .
Your contemporary , the ' Weekly Dispatch , ' with that kind of mock-liberal cant for which it is notorious , is the organ of these tyrannical masters—an unofficial * Moniteur , ' that publishes the lucubrations of men , who pretend to know much , but in reality know nothing , of the wants , condition , and hardships of the class they are otherwise absurdly supposed to defend . The writer of the article under * History and Politics , ' is Mr . Sidney Smith ; the author of ' Mother Country' ( a work advising men to emigrate , for long hours and reduced wages were
rendering it impossible for the majority to earn their bread at home ) , is Mr . Sidney Smith ; and the Secretary to the combined masters of the Engineering Trades is Mr . Sidney Smith , —the self-same man , who , under the disguise of a reformer , I trust has not his parallel . Such men and against their writings may Providence preserve the working classes of this country from inclining towards . They will be for ever lost , if their opinions be adopted ; since they know only one thing in their hearts , and that is the rights of Capital , to the utter neglect of the duties which are inseparable thereto .
To the working men of England a few words of caution are necessary to be addressed . If they are not watchful now , they will see the customs and privileges connected with their various trades leaving them , and themselves powerless to resist the attack . The success of the Master Engineers will be the signal for a wholesale slaughter on the rights of Labour ; and the pernicious doctrines put forth by those alluded to will teach them to be passive spectators of the carnage . Then will follow the price of their labour , and cheap food will be used as an irresistible argument , justifying the reduction ; and bo , the measure of 1846 , designed for the future happiness of the whole community , will distribute its advantages upon the wellto-do peoples , the Sidney Smiths of the press and the middle classes .
These are the things that now cast their shadows before us ; and this is the hour to arm against them , to testify to these buyers of labour that the rights of the English workman shall not * be sacrificed upon their Mammonitish shrine . The cause of the Engineer is the cause of every labourer in the country ; what he is to be denied work for affects alike both skilled and unskilled workmen . The piece-work system , to be what Us name implies , should be a reciprocal agreement
between master and man . If it be not , it is a pricework plan , the master only being the arbiter in the case . Who ia not affected in such a contemptible arrangement ?—whose independence is not crushed by acquiescing with such a one-sided regulation ? The employed would not pretend to be sole judges in a question so obviously social ; and wherefore should their masters ( as they are conventionally called ) arrogate to themselves so much , and issue their mandates in the name of the Great Iam ? But
they will do so , and very much more , if the men of England do not prove to them that resistance will follow the attack . The despot of Labour is the every-day act of the Capitalist .. To him Liberty is a privilege , not to be shared in by the so-called canaille of society—the mob ; Independence of Action ( such as declining to work more than ten hours a day ) a crime in the workman ; respect for seven years , devotion to a particular study ( the best seven years of any man's life ) , is an antiquated notion . And why ? Because the tendency of acting differently is to distribute the results of industry with a more equitable hand than Capitalists can comfortabl y look on . I kuow that all men are not so avaricious ; but they who are not are of the few—they form the exception to tho rule—that remains unaltered .
And now , will not the working classes hold their meetings , and , if necessary , club their pence , to maintain tho right of refusal to do more than ten hours ' work a day , when that their strength is exhausted , or tho claims of citizenship call them elsewhere ; to defend the right of a voice , previous to the execution of any piece of work , as to the price to be paid for the same when performed ? These are the questions that the Master Engineers say , ' We only will answer and determine , ' but which , I hope , they will never be suffered to say with truth ; and , as such interrogations affect the whole position of labour , as it stands in relation to capital , so they clearly become of national importance .
To discharge ten thousand workmen for making such requests as the Engineers have done , will be to commit an act disgraceful to tho name of Englishmen . Our honour , as men , is bound up in such a violation ; the claims of Industry , —those which spoke so loudly and so truthfully in the Great Exhibition , —these Shy out shame against such a merciless proceeding . The men have but stated their wishes as a body ; they never intended to strike in order to put them into practical effect . Whatever a particular shop or factory chose to do in Oldham , the entire Society is not to be compromised by . Every public answer given in meetings and in print , shows this to be true ; and as the new year broke upon
the employed , that was to be the indicator for them to endeavour to obtain their employ er ' s sanction to certain regulations , which , as members of the society , they had previously agreed to . Surely , to solicit an opinion is not to be regarded as an intention to strike ? No , the body did not contemplate such an extra measure . Certainly Messrs . Hibberts and Piatt would have been held to their bond , as they ought and must have been , seeing that they dictated its very words . From this neither masters nor men could faithfully recede , save by a dishonorable rejection on either side . Here , then , was the position . But beyond this , the Engineers , as a society , have committed no aggressive act .
I ask the men so turned out . to be firm to one another ; and I solicit those who are in work to support them in their difficulties . Let this be done for a few weeks only , and we shall see thatthistyranny will meet with a counter check ; for work will be found for the men elsewhere , the profits of which will be more equitably and generously shared amongst them , which could not possibly be tbe „ case , whilst serving their former masters . Censor .
Tub Monmouthshire Boroughs.—In Addition ...
Tub Monmouthshire Boroughs . —In addition to Mr . Lindsay of London , Mr . Crawshay Bailer , tho great ironmaster , is now fairly ia the field as a candidate whenever a vacancy occurs for tho representation of these boroughs . Mr . Bailey states himself to be in favour of an extension of the suffrage by the extension of the borough qualification to the counties . lie is also favourable to civil and religious liberty ; and , should the proposition for a five shilling ' duty on wheat be brought forward , he promises it his support .
The Manchester Public School Association...
THE MANCHESTER PUBLIC SCHOOL ASSOCIATION . DEPUTATION TO LORD JOHN RUSSELL . On Tuesday a deputation of gentlemen interested in the principles of the Manchester Public School Association had an interview by appointment with Lord John Russell at his official residence in Downing-street . The deputation consisted of several influential members of parliament , clergymen of various denominations , and other gentlemen of great influence in their several localities . Mr . M . Gibson , M . P ., said he had the honour to introduce to his lordship the deputation of gentlemen who represented an association called the National Public School Association , which was composed of individuals belonging to almost every religious denomination in the country , who
had associated themselves together for the purpose of promoting a better system and more efficient plan of ftational instruction , the object being to carry a measure through parliament , if possible , with the view of establishing' common schools in which a portion of education should be given , that portion beingsecular instruction . Ho believed there were in the room several ministers of religion connected with various denominations . ' . and he thought the society was composed of persons of influence representing nearly all the different religious denominations . He would not go into the details of the plan , but he would merely say it was not a compulsory system . It -was merely , to enable the ratepayers , if so minded , to have the power , by rating
themselves , of contributing to the burden of supporting those common schools , rather than leave them to bo supported by the voluntary subscriptions of a few . That was a principle which had been already applied to the support of museums and institutions of that kind , which were rather germane to this question . Many of them were maintained by the public rates ; so far , therefore , as that went there was no great novelty in the plan . The rate payers would have the power of resisting tho adoption of the measure , if a majority of them in any district were desirous of sojdoing . He believed the measure was founded on the [ principle of justice to all persons , excluding , as it did , none from the benefit * it proposed to confer in the form of secular instruction .
Mr . Bulky , president of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce , theRev . W . M'Ksrrow , Mr . W . F . Hotund , and Mr . W .. R . Wood having addressed his lordship , Mr . W . J . Fox , M . P . i said ho wished just to notice the great affinity , be thought he might say the identity , of this scheme of education with the plan already ' so successfully carried on in Ireland under the direction of the government . The arrangement proposed in the schools was as nearly as possible the same ; there was the same separation of secular from religious instruction , and the same attempt at combination of persons of different religious opinions ; and , in the view of the projectors of this icheme , the result would be the elevation of education itself . ¦ The object of the deputation was , therefore , to raise English education to the standard of Irish education , there being this difference
between the cases , that the criminal returns for Ireland showed tho efficiency of the schools there in the continued decrease in the per-cenUge of criminals who received instruction , while no such result was obtained in this part of the kingdom ; and as they had often heard of "justice to Ireland , " he hoped in this matter it would not be too much to ask forjustioeto England . ( Laughter . ) Lord John Russell said : I have a very few remarks to trouble you with on this subject ; but in the first place , let me say I think the country is indebted to you , g entlemen , who are making an effort on behalf of education . I have very long felt that the stato of education in this country is not such as we should be proud of , and indeed such as we ought almost to be ashamed of ; and , therefore , I think any gentlemen , who have combined for the purpose
of improving the education of the country , whether they succeed or fail in that object , deserve credit for making the attempt itself . Of course there is no private end to be obtained in that attempt , and your labours can only be for the advantage of the country itself . With regard to anything further , I have to stato that I must not be understood as expressing the opinion of the government , which has not come to any decision on this subject at the present moment , and , indeed , I may say that amy of the remarks which I may myself make on the subject must be taken as subject to further consideration and reflection by myself . The question mentioned by some gentlemen as to the government proposing a great scheme of national education is one that requires to be very deeply considered before it is adopted . Tho government of Lord Melbourne once
proposed what they thought might be an improvement m the system of education ; and that was only carried in the House of Commons , in a committee of the whole house , by a majority of two . Sir James Graham , again , under the government of Sir R . Peel , proposed a schema of public education , and afterwards made alterations and concessions in the plan—and very properly made them—to meet objections ; but at last he was obliged to abandon the measure altogether . Upon the whole there arc circumstances which show the difficulty in the way of the government proposing a scheme of national education . My own opinion is that the question is advancing to a solution ; but I know it is the opinion of Lord Lansdowne , and it is also my own , that the question is not at present in such a state as to be rtpe for the government undertaking it ; and undertaking it
prematurely would be more likely to mar the object than to promote it . So far , then , as to the government . With regard to your particular scheme , I wish not to say much about it ; but I wish , gentlemen , to consider—and I think the government will be obliged to consider , if they undertook it—what the state of the country is , and what the opinion of the public would be regarding it . "Wi . en there were only Sunday-schools existing in the country for the poorer classes , the British and Foreign School Society attempted to establish a more general system of daily instruction . They made it necessary in their achooh that instruction in the Bible should be given—they refused to accept any creeds , catechisms , or anything that would exclude those who agreed to the reading of the Bible ; but that evidently included religious instruction . When tho National
School Society was set up , they required instruction not only in the Bible , but instruction in the Liturgy and the Catechism of the Churth of England . There have been , also , a great many schools established by tho Wesleyan body , who require that tho whole of the Bible shall bo read in those schools , and are not only against excluding religious instruction , but against the reading of portions only of the Scriptures , That shows that the tendency of a'l those different societies , and I might add the Congregationaligts and others ; and the employment of tho sums they have collected have all been directed to combine religious with secular instruction . And I think , though it is a system that may be changed , you must not omit that fact as an important element in tho consideration of the schools which already exist . It is proposed by this bill to combine
tho maintenance of the new schools with the schools now existing . That would be very much a matter of detail , and would depend upon whether they could be maintained in a way to which these societies would agree . I think that at present , certainly , the general opinion of the country is in favour of a combination of religious with secular instruction . Perhaps I may have some prejudices myself on this subject . I have very long belonged to the British and Foreign School Society , and havo very much adopted their views on this subject ; but that may be a prejudice / Mr . Foxsays , and says very truly , that this scheme is very similar to that scheme which the government has adopted , and which is in force in Ireland , and has worked very successfully . But I think it hardly follows that , although it is the best for Ireland , that it would be
the beat for this country . That , I think , is a point which may be disputed . I do not wish to say anything further with regard to this particular scheme . There ia one thing , however , that I havo seen with great satisfaction , with regard to Manchester . Although I hold in my hand the protest of the Society of Friends against the Local Education Bill , yet I think it is evident from the facts that havo been laid before me that their objections are not directed to the principle of a local rate , but rather to tho particular provisions of tho bill itself ; and I think there seems to be in Manchester a great majority of those who pay rates who are willing to concur in paying rates for the improvement oi education . I think that is a very encouraging circumstance , because men in general do not say they are ready to pay more than they now pay ; and their being willing to rates for
pay educational purposes proves the estimation in which they hold education , and the great benefits to be derived from it . I wish only further to say , that I hope you will go on with your scheme , without , of course , pledging myself to any part that I can take on the subject , out because I think that even failures in schemes of this kind do much good ; and with regard to the scheme of Sir J . Graham , to which I have referred , although it was met by a great deal of opposition and clamour at first , yet the ultimate result was that great efforts were made to promote education , and great advantages ensued from that attempt . I will certainly say further , that I do not share m the opinion of those who think that there is any hostility between secular and reli gious instruction . My opinion certainly is , that if the whole country was to say , " We must give up all bopo of combining religious with secular
instruction ; it is in vain to attempt it any more , and we can only by general consent give secular instruction , " Iam convinced that so far from that being hostile to religious instruction , it would prepare tho minds of the pupils who received this secular instruction for the reception of religious instruction , and would make them better able to understand that which tho ministers of religion would themselves have to communicate to them . By giving them secular instruction , however you may seek to convey it , you cannot fail to lead the mind to love and generate the Deity , whose wisdom and beneficence are seen in the works of creation ; and to love our neighbours—not to mention those great moral doctrin es which , although not religion itself , cannot fail to prepare the minds of children , as I have said , for the reception of its great principles , when afterwards brought under the inculcation of religion . After a few remarks from tho Rev . Dr . Beam ) , the deputation bowed their acknowledgments and withdrew .
Latest Intelligence.. ' ... ',.:; Northe...
LATEST INTELLIGENCE . . ' ... ' ,.: ; NORTHERN STAR . OFFICE . ' ., Saturday Afternoon . THE DESTRUCTION OF THE AMAZON BY FIRE . An investigation has been held at Southampton with a view of , if possible , ascertaining the cause of the conflagration . The evidence , with one or two slight exceptions , was in accordance with the statements already given in our seventh page . After all the evidence had been heard , the court adjourned without expressing any opinion , as to the cause of the fire . From other accounts we make the following extracts : — Captain Symons ordered no one to get into the boats . This order was obeyed until the people saw the'flames overpowering the ship . He was last seen with the man at the V \ -i' ? rderinfi the helm to be put . up , so as to keep the ship before the wind , Hi 8 last words were , " It is all over with her . " ^ .
Among the crew of the Amazon who was saved ( writes ottv boutnampton correspondent ) is an ablo seaman , named James Maylm . He arrived at Southampton on Wednesday night . HehelongsSto Wisbeach , Vm Cambridgeshire . He is an intelligent and apparently a trustworthy man . Restates that soon after the ship left the Needles they stopped two hours off Portland to throw water on the enA ; the captain at this time was walking the bridge . Maylm was on watch on Saturday night on tho look-out at the port bow . Mowatt , another man who was saved was looking out on the starboard bow . The second officer had charge of tho watch . At a quarter to one on Sunday morning he heard the fire-bell , which was rung by Passmore another of those saved . On turning round and eeeintr wUrp .
abouts tho ship was on fire , he immediately rushed to got at the wet swabs , which had been made ready tho night before to clean the decks for Sunday prayers , and threw them on the foregrating close to the fore funnel . He then with another man , hove two trusses of hay overboard ! which had taken fire . At that moment the captain came on deck in his shirt and trowsers , and without shoes or stockings , and Maylin assisted him in throwing water down the forecabin . The captain was perfectly calm and collected , and , though working laboriously , was giving orders to the various persons who were near him . A scene of indescribable terror and confusion ensued ; and Maylin states that the despairing and agonised screams of the people , together with the cries of the tortured
animals on board , seem yet to ring in his ears . Ho saw numbers of persons rush on deck , stricken with terror , many of them terribly burnt . Some dropped down dead immediately , or swooned with fright and suffering . lie remembers seeing a boy rush on deck in a Guernsey frock , with his face fearfully burnt . While getting the boat ready in which he escaped , a female passenger rushed on deck . She had on only her night gown , the bottom of which and her legs were much burnt . Three times she was placed in the boat that was saved—once by Quartermaster Dunford—but she refused to remain . He heard several hurriedly say to her that they would soon give her plenty of clothing when she got away from tho ship , hut modestly prevailed over the love of life , and she remained behind to perish .
The last words Maylin heard Captain Symons say were , " It ' s all up with us—there is no hope , my men—eet your boats ready . Ho then saw him for the last time as he went aft towards the wheel . Maylin then almost immediately fell through tho deck , and received a flush wound in his knee . What added ' much to tho disastrous consequences of the fire was thenot being able to stop the engines on account of the terrible heat in the engine-room . Tho speed at which she was going through the sea rendered it almost impossible to launch the boats without their being swamped . The boat in which the twenty-ono were saved most fortunately and singularly escaped swamping . After leaving tho ship he saw no living thing on board—he thinks that all but himself and companions must havo perished in
the waves in attempting to escape , or must have been disabled or killed by tho flames . It was break of day before the Amazon went down . He saw her distinctly when her magazine blew up . A large number of rockets mounted up in the air at tho time . The boat in which the twenty-one were saved was rowed about twenty-five or thirty miles when they saw a barque . Thoy hailed her with their united voices , when she was certainly not more than a quarter of a mile off . Maylin is confident some one on board the barque answered . He distinctly saw a lantern held outside the barque , as if to distinguish whereabouts the hail came from . As well as he could see the barque , she had close reefed fore-topsail double reefed main-topsail , whole foresail , fore-topsaid
staysaj ) , Tho barque , however , did not attempt to render the boat any assistance , although the captain of her must have seen the burning Amazon , and must have coujected that the persons who hailed him were some of her crew or passengers . The scene on deck is described as dreadful in the extreme . When the flames had approached the after companion , two male passengers came up from tho saloon all in flames , and running aft , fell on the deck , A tall lady , supposed to bo Mrs . Maclaren , entreated some one to take care of her child , but she would not enter either of the boats . Tho stewardess , Mrs . Scott , with her bonnet and shawl on ,
and something in her hand , first asked Steer to put her into the dingy and then left for a larger boat . At the timo of leaving some of those who yet lived were kneeling on the deck praying to God for mercy , while others , almost in a stato of nudity , were running about screaming with horror . The water tender on board the Amazon , who was saved , describes the fire as most rapid and intense . Ho is confident that many of those forward never could have got out of their beds before the fire overtook them . We give the following extracts from a letter dated Brest , January 5 th : —
" The Dutch vessel , Gortruida , Capt . Tunteler , entered the roads here to-day , with twenty-five shipwrecked persons , who escaped from a terrible catastrophe , of which it is a miracle that they are not tho victims . " Thewhole of the shipwrecked passengers and crew have been brought ashore in boats , and a more melancholy spectacle than they presented could not be pictured . Among them are two ladies and a child ; and their sufferings may be conceived from the fact that , besides all the other horrors they have gone through , they were exposed to all the inclemency of tbe weather during nearly fortyeight hours , almost in a state of nudity . "
The Engineers And Their Employers. Yeste...
THE ENGINEERS AND THEIR EMPLOYERS . Yesterday Messrs . Middleton and Co ., engineers , Lomanstreet , Borough , closed their establishment , by which about 100 men are thrown out of work . The Co-operative System . —A meeting was last evening held at the Sun Tavern , Blackheath-bill , called by the Greenwich Co-operative Working Engineers' Association . The object of the meeting was to consider the propriety of establishing additional workshops upon the co-operative principle—one shop having been opened by tho society about a fortnight ago , in which a number of men havo since been employed . Previous to last night the shares taken had been few , but the capital subscribed at tho conclusion of tbe meeting amounted to £ 305 , divided amongst about 110 operatives . The society has already received orders to the amount of about £ 160 , and have given tenders for work to the amount of £ 2 , 000 . Manchester . —A meeting of the working classes engaged in the iron trades was held on Thursday evening at
Carpenters ' . hall , which was attended by about 6 , W ) persons , including operatives connected with tho society and those not connected with it . The following resolutions were adopted : — " That we , the members of the iron trades in Manchester , after serious consideration , ate of opinion that the resolutions issued by the Amalgamated Executive Council for the discontinuance of overtime and piecework are absolutely necessary ; and therefore wo ple-ige ourselves to do all in our power peaceably , but firmly , to effect the abolition of those evils . " "That , inasmuch as our Executive Council does not agree with strikes , nor tho removal of labourers from planing , slotting , shaping , and drilling machines , this meeting seriously considers the course of our employers in this present dispute unwarrantably opposed to just prm * ciplesand inconsistent with truth and humanity . "
, " That in consequence of calumnious accusations having been made against the officers of the various trade societies relative to their bein ^ paid demagogues , comnumiats , idlers , & c , wo repudiate such as wholly untrue and uncalled for . "
Respite For Sarah Ann Hills.—We Are Info...
Respite for Sarah Ann Hills . —We are informed that fc Sir George Grey has granted this unfortunate woman ano- ither respite for a week . 'Cue Marylebonk Murder . —Thomas Bare has been found d guilty of manslaughter , and sentenced to transportation for . ir . life . Inquest on the Children found in Whitefriars . —Last at evening Mr . Payne held an inquest upon the bodies of the le three children found dead in Pleydell-street . There being ig no evidence as to their origin , verdicts of " Found dead" l " were returned . The Funeral op the late Lamented Baron Kement , t , President of tbe Hungarians , is to take place at Kensall-Ugreen Cemetery , tomorrow , ( Sunday , ) January 11 th , at at three o'clock . The procession is to bo formed and leave ve No . 12 , Foley-place , at half-past one o'clock . A suitableilei address is to be delivered on the ground by Dr . II . Ronayay in the Hungarian language .
Latest Foreign News. France. Release Of ...
LATEST FOREIGN NEWS . FRANCE . RELEASE OF CIIANGARNIER , LAMORlCIEItE , AKDs'D * TIIEIit COMPANIONS . ( BY SUBMARINE TBI . KGRAPU . ) Paws , Friday . —The prisoners of Ham have been setset ; at liberty on the frontier , with injunctions not to return to to > France . Sixty persons have been arrested at Montpellier , oaom charges connected with the late disturbances . It is announced th it the promul g ation of tbe Constitu-itution will take place between the lath and 20 th , to allowlow ! timo for tho publication of the most urgent of the organianicc laws .
Explosion Of Fiuk-Damp.—Recovery Of Two ...
Explosion of Fiuk-Damp . —Recovery of Two Bodibsibsj , -On Saturday an inquest was held at Great Lever , neaneau Bolton , on the bodies of two men who were killed by air am explosion in « coal-mine not less than two months ago , butbufct « bich were not found until Wednesday last , owing to the thee accumulation of n . li immablo gas in the workings , which sel sell the coal on fire , ? . nd until then prevented any effectual searcbrcbt for them . The jury found a verdict of " Accidental daath . ^ h . *"
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 10, 1852, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_10011852/page/1/
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