Vrnuiuriul.

There have been several English elections this week, caused by the appointment of two Members of the Government to higher offices, the appointment of two Members of Parliament to the Bench, and the retirement of three Members from public life.

At Hertford, Mr. Cowper, the new Vice-President of the Educational Committee of the Privy Council, and at Aylesbury, Sir Richard Bothell,

the new Attorney-General, were elected without opposition. In his speech, Mr. Cowper expressed surprise that it should have been supposed the Income-tax of 18. 4d. in the pound would be continued another

year. He had never heard any person in a responsible position, or who

was likely to know anything about the matter, express any such opinion. But it is matter for grave consideration whether the tax shall continue until 1860, or cease altogether. He was not prepared to say what should

be done with the tax : " it is odious, of course" ; and he hoped it would Be reserved for periods of difficulty, and the ordinary revenue derived from other sources. Sir Richard Bethell argued against too great retrenchment; and promised for the Government attention to criminal jurisprudence and a large measure of education.

The struggle at Southampton, embittered in its earlier stages, was well contested to the last. At the nomination on Monday, none of the speak -ere were permitted to make themselves heard. Sir Edward Butler said that Mr. Weguelin had made a sad mistake in attaching himself to the 4' &Ay lot" he had; and thenceforth there was unending uproar. Sir

Edward was proposed by Mr. Le Femme, seconded by Mr. J. Hunt. Mr. Weguelin was proposed by Admiral Prescott, seconded by Mr. Summers. Mr. Andrews was proposed by Mr. Hannan, seconded by Mr. Dusantoy.

Mr. Carden was proposed, but withdrew. The show of hands was an favour of Mr. Andrews, and a poll was demanded by the other candidates. On Tuesday, the violence of the nomination-day broke into open fighting. For some hours, Sir Edward Butler taking the lead, the contest was very close ; indeed, up to the last moment it was doubtful whether Mr. Weguelin or his Conservative rival would win. The numbers, as stated by the Returning Officer, were—Weguelin, 994; Butler, 962; Andrews, 726. Mr. Weguelin was declared duly elected.

The Greenwich election was attended by some disorder, lint it was mainly confined to the hustings. General Codrington was proposed by Mr. Duval, seconded by Mr. Gresbruck. His opponent, Mr. (or, as he calls himself, Colonel) Sleigh, was proposed by Mr. Eugene Murray, seconded by Mr. Tassid. The show of hands was in favour of Mr. Sleigh, but he never had a chance at the polL The official statement of the numbers gives—Codrington, 2913; Sleigh, 1579. Mr. James Clay was returned for Hull on Wednesday, without opposition. He was proposed by Mr. Henry Blunden' and seconded by Mr. B. J. Thompson. Mr. Clay, who was unseated on petition in 1863, looked upon his election as a triumph.

There has been an election at Newport in the Isle of Wight. Mr., Kinglake having withdrawn the field remained open to Mr. Kennard, Conservative, and Mr. Charles Seeley% Liberal. Mr. Kennard was proposed by Mr. Pittis, seconded by Mr. Eldridge; Mr. Seeley was proposed by Dr. Wa-veil, seconded by Mr. Pinuock. Mr. Seeley carried the election on the show of hands; but his opponent beat him at the poll. The numbers were—Kennard, 271 • Seeley, 250. The retirement of Sir Robert Price from the representation of Hereford brought two candidates into the field to contend for the vacant seat. The nomination took place on Thursday. Mr. Clive, who described himself as a "genuine Liberal," was proposed by Mr. C. T. Bodenham, and seconded by Alderman Anthony. Mr. Kevin Davies, who represents . the Conservatives, was proposed by Mr. F. H. Thomas, and seconded by Mr. Edward Wemyss. The show of hands was in favour of Mr. Clive, but Mr. Davies demanded a poll. This took place yesterday, and dosed with these numbers—Clive 399; Davies 230.

Mr. Frewen, formerly Member for one of the divisions of Sussex, has withdrawn from the contest he resigned his seat to tight in North Leicestershire against Lord John Manners. Although aided by the cry of "No Popery," he could not prevail against the Rutland interest.

The Manchester and Salford General Committee of Education held a public meeting in the Free-trade Hall on the 6th. It was attended by many gentlemen of great local Influence; Mr. Thomas Barley in the chair. Among the speakers, were Mr. William Entwisle, Canon Richson,

Sir J. Hay-Shuttleworth, Sir John Pakington, and several clergymen. The object of the meeting seems to have been to obtain a public ratifica

tion of the principles of the bill which Sir John Pakington and Mr. Cobden will introduce into Parliament. The resolutions adopted arc comprehensive in scope. They state that tho provision for payments in aid of schools is inadequate ; and that the amount of aid, the schools to which it should apply, and the conditions under which it should be granted, ought to be determined by an act of Parliament and not by minutes of Council ; that a "permissive educational measure," "available at least for every corporate city and borough," ought to be passed; that any payment made with the authority of Parliament, to promote the individual instruction of children, ought not to be dependent upon such annual votes, but upon local knowledge of local necessities, and by local rates administered by local authorities, elected by the ratepayers ; and that "although it would be unjust in administering any local rate, in aid of the schools built by voluntary effort, to interfere with the management, discipline, instruction, or inspection of such schools, otherwise than to secure the specific objects of such aid, yet it would be equally unjust to disregard the conscientious feelings of parents in respect to the religious education of their children, or of the ratepayers in respect to their paying for forms of religion to which they object : therefore this meeting considers that the only requirement pertaining to instruction, which, as a condition of receiving such local aid, ought to be demanded, is a prescribed amount of secular instruction ; and that the religious instruction ought to be left to be superadded, or otherwise, at the discretion of the school-managers, but that no child ought to be compelled to learn a distinctive religious formulary to which his parent conscientiously objects." Sir James Shutlleworth expounded the working of the existing system; which he regarded as too centralized, as leading to over-rigidity and dissatisfaction, or over-laxity and waste in the expenditure of public money. The fund required for capitation grants alone threatens to become so large that it will be proceeding too far in centralization to leave it in the hands of the Privy Council ; and he saw no reason why the powers it has assumed should not be localized. Sir John Pakington explained how he had, at the invitation of Mr. Cobden, come to act with the misunderstood Secularists.

If he rightly understood the meaning and objects of that party, what they said was this—" We value religious instruction as much as the advocates of a religious system ; but we contend that for such teaching the school is not the place, and the schoolmaster is not the man." The difference, then, between the so-called secular and religious parties was not so much one of principle as of time, manner, and place. To each party he gave "a word of counsel." To his secular friends he would say, that if they trusted to the Sunday school and to home teaching for the religious instruction of the school children, his belief was, that in the one they were trusting to what was not sufficient, and that if they trusted to home teaching they must be thinking rather of the homes to which they themselves belong, than of those comfortless and too often wretched homes from which the children of the humbler classes come to school. To the other side he would say, that their religious teaching would be utterly thrown away—that they would be sowing seed in an unproductive soil—unless the secular teaching of the schools of England were raised to a higher standard than it has yet attained. He saw no reason why he should not on this question ant with Mr. Cobden ; and he thought it would produce a great moral effect to see men of opposite parties in public life casting aside party watchwords and party entanglements, and consenting to act together for a great object which all parties deem important in its relation to the wellbeing of the people.