roniurial.

The ceremony of opening the new " Lyceum " at Oldham was per- formed on Monday. The Mayor and Corporation went in procession to the building, and were addressed there by Mr. James Platt, who de- scribed its origin and objects. It was projected three years ago ; an in- dustrial exhibition furnished 20001., and a subscription about .20001, more; the cost of the building is 5000/. Its erection has been followed by en increase of subscribers, chiefly among the working men. Besides the ceremony of the opening, there were a luncheon in the afternoon and a tea-party in the evening. The list of guests comprised the names of Lord Stanley, Mr. Cobbett and Mr. W. T. Fax the Borough Members, Sir James Kay Shuttleworth, Mr. James Heywood M.P., Colond and Lieutenant-Colonel Burns, sons of the poet of Scotland, Lord Stanley presided over the evening tea-party. The speeches de- livered on this occasion were long and elaborate exereitations 'on edu- cation and the best mode of promoting it.

Lord Stanley drew a distinction between the attendance at schools, which is forced, and the attendance at institutions intended for adults, -which is voluntary. Few may benefit in schools, but next to none of the teaching in an Atheneum is thrown away. It is a mistake, he pointed out, to sup- pose that the mechanic or the tradesman cannot really learn -anything for want of time. The mind only retains its freshness for a limited period ; no one can give anything like the greater part of his time to study. It would be as reasonable to suppose that four dinners would make us four times us healthy as one, as to suppose that as much can be learnt in four hours as in one. Four hours a week earnestly devoted to any one study would carry a man very for indeed. His object was to show that the whole organization of a man should be worked in turn. We want teaching for those-who desire to be taught, rational amusements for those who only desire to be interest- ed. " Men die for want of cheerfulness, as plants die for want of light." He denied in tote that these institutions have been a failure. Only within few years have prejudices against them been overcome ; only of late have they ceased to bear a party character. They have had to contend against dear books, against prejudices, without permanent funds ; and yet there are now more than eight hundred, and their number increases daily. What should be taught in these institutions ? "First, I think it is desirable that intellectual competition should be stimulated in every possible manner ; and I heard with peculiar pleasure some words -which fell from the Presi- dent of the institution this morning, as to the propriety of establishing ex- aminations and rewarding efficiency with prizes. What is read with some definite and tangible end in view is apt to be more carefully, studied and longer remembered than what is read in a vague,and general idea of im- provement. Next, I hold that a wide latitude should be g

W iven to in- dividual taste. hat a man wishes to learn he will learn better,

more quickly, and with more profit to himself, than what he -under- takes to study merely upon the recommendation of others, even though the latter may be more generally useful. Subject to this qualification, I will mention those topics which seem most likely to-be of -service. I see in a prospectus which has been issued mention of French classes and ,others for the teaching of languages. I am far from depre- ciating such studies ; their interest is great, their use is great even for those who stay at home, much more for those who travel : but where time and opportunity are limited, and where no special inducement exists, I doubt Whether the acquiring of languages is the most necessary, or profitalie branch of knowledge. Words, after all, are only vehicles of thought; the stores of thought accumulated in our own tongue are immense ; and if much of life be passed in that which is rather preparation for study than study itself, little time may remain to complete the building for which such wide' and ample foundations have been laid. It seems to me—but remember that Igive my opinions on these subjects with the utmost ,deferenoe—that the foundation of a complete and rational education lies in the knowledge of natural laws, as deduced from recorded facts; a knowledge, first, of those

laws by which the inorganic world is governed—as those which regulate astronomical, geological, and chemical phenomena; next, of those Iowa which control organized existences—a branch which includes physiology in all its departments ; lastly, a knowledge of that which, for want of a more recognized term, I must call sociology, embracing the investigation of social problems, and enabling us to trace the paths along which human action has moved in all countries and ages. . . . To sum up in a word, I mean this —that the end of all human teaching is human action ; that that teaching is most valuable which tends to direct and economize action ; that such teach- ing must concern itself mainly with two things—the laws which govern in- animate nature and the laws which govern man ; and that whatever does not add to our knowledge on one or other of these subjects is, comparatively speaking, of little value."

Sir James Kay Shuttleworth spoke chiefly on the progress of education. He attributed the want of success in lyceums to the defective state of ele- mentary instruction ; and he stated what has been done to supply the want. " Forty normal schools, educating 2000 students, and sending out 1000 teachers annually, have been founded ; 8000 pupil-teachers are now aiding in the instruction of schools, and undergoing the apprenticeship which is to issue in their passing two years in the normal school, and afterwards be- coming certified teachers. Besides these arrangements, the Government has expended on various other objects moneys which amount in the whole to nearly 500,000/. per annum." The whole of the institutions of the country being founded on the principle of self-government, the schools have been left in the hands of religious communions; and a large part of their support is purely voluntary. The question that connects the condition of elementary instruction with mechanics' institutions is that of the age at which children can be retained at school. " It appears from the late cen- sus, that 20,000 poor children have left school before they were ten years of age ; 35,000 more poor children before they were eleven years of age ; 28,000 more poor children before they were twelve years of age ; and after the age of twelve scarcely any were left at school. Even in the towns, and in the more commercial districts, the Inspectors report that few children are at school at a greater age than from ten to eleven. Now, the causes affecting these results are also disclosed by the census. It appears that of children who were not at school between the ages of three and 978,179 boys, or 40 per cent, were not at work ; and 1,218,055 girls, or 53 per cent, also were not at work. On the other hand, the number not at school, but at work, was comparatively small ; 318,776 boys, or 16 per cent were at work between the ages of three and fifteen ; and 218,055, or 9 per cent of girls. It appears that 57 per cent of the children of the population of Great Britain, between the ages of three and fifteen, remain without education, chiefly ,be- cause of the indifference of their parents. This is a sad state of things ; but there arc also some other features which have been remarked by the Inspect- ors greatly affecting the success of the school. Mr. Watkins, Inspector of the West -Riding of Yorkshire, complains greatly of the fluctuation of the attendance of children, owing to various causes affecting the manufacturing interests of that county ; and he says that, in the majority of the schools of that district, 88 per cent of the children leave the school annually ; only 12 per cent of them remain. Now, you have had great experience in this dis- trict of the operation of the Half-time Act. I believe that, with whatever feelings the Half-time Act slur at first received in this district, there is now a general satisfaction with its operation. I believe that, both on the part of the parents and on the part of employers, the gradual growth of the children in civilization, the improvement of their manners, and increase of their in- telligence, and the greater value of their labour, are acknowledged; and that these results have been obtained without any considerable disturb- ance of the manufacturing operations, or without any interruption of commercial operations. Now, the extension of the Half-time Act to the whole of England would send 2,000,000 of children to school whose life is at present spent in idleness ; and it would double the number of those who are now employed in remunerative labour. One of the In- spectors, Mr. Cooke, says with great emphasis, that no measure could be adopted which would have so large an effect in raising the condition of the working classes throughout the rural districts of this country. At eleven years of age, the Inspectors report that the children who have been taught in efficient schools know as much as any of the children who are taught in the schools that have been created on the Continent of Europe, notwith- standing that their organization has been completed for a great number of years. But, in the free communities of Switzerland, where each Canton manages its own affairs and the most democratic system of voting exists, every Canton has a law, that no child shall be taken away from school be- fore he is fourteen years of age. Now, in England, the difference is amazingly great ; for between the ages of twelve and thirteen only 6.44 per cent are at school, between the ages of thirteen and fourteen only 3.64 per cent, and between the ages of fourteen and fifteen only 2.34 per cent. The proportion in Scotland is even not higher than per cent or 2 per cent more than in England. That is a fact which tends to show that, even in a country which since the Reformation has had the advantage of a parochial system of schools, dependence cannot be placed on the parents who support themselves by manual labour to send their children to school at the age of fourteen."

' As a remedy, he recommended the establishment of evening schools ; and pointed out that the Oldham Lyceum might be the centre of a group of

institutions in the surrounding villages, and sending out evening teachers to the latter. He dwelt on the importance of class-instruction, accompanied by lectures and followed by examinations ; and supported the project, originating with the Society of Arts, of granting certificates of pro- ficiency.

Mr. Fox took some exception to the views of Sir James Shuttleworth. He objected to giving the Government encouragement in its present course. " I support the Government in its educational doings, because a little is better than nothing, and because I cannot forego the hope that the course which they are taking may eventually merge in some broader, more general and more efficient series of measures. If it were not for that expectation, I certainly should not feel inclined to support them at all in the pursuit of that course ; and I will tell you why. I think there are certain radical sources of inefficiency in the course they take. I by no means approve their setting their faces so decidedly against mixed schools—schools where the children of persons of all sects and denominations in religion may meet to- gether, where there are no exclusive forms, no exclusive readings, where they are not obliged to rank thettanelves either as Protestant or Catholic, or anything else, but where they may look upon one another as the future men and women of this country, and learn to respect and regard one another, independent of denominational distinctions. I say the Government sets its face against schools on this broad and general principle. They will not make any grant unless you come to them in connexion with some religious denomination or other. They will make of you certain requisitions, which of themselves operate as exclusions to certain classes of children from their instruction. Well, this I dislike ; and I think it, too, not unnatural that the elementary teaching which is thus fettered and limited should prove inefficient." The Government plan does not keep pace with the increase of population. " We have had edu- cational censuses and estimates at three periods—in 1819, I think, first, in 1835, and in 1850. Well, what do they show ? Take at each of those pe-

riods the number of children in the country of the school age, and then reckon the number of children of the school age who at each time have not been at school, and you find it a regularly increasing quantity. All our ex- ertions are distanced by population. It m like the tortoise running a race with the hare ; we cannot overtake it, we are not likely ever to overtake it upon the present system. There are more uneducated children of the school age in this country now than there were in 1835, and there were more in 1835 than there were in 1819." Mr. Fox urged them not to look upon the institution as a charity. " I say, in the words of the ring which I wear on my finger, and with which the women of Oldham married me to the cause of education—that education is the birthright of all.' Providence, which brings a living soul into a civilized community, gives that soul, at the hands of the community, a claim for such instruction as may develop its diversified powers, and secure to it a fair prospect of success in the chase of goodness and of happiness." He set forth the light in which he viewed mechanics' institu- tions. regard them as cooperating with Providence itself in working out that great law of progress which as been described, and most truly described, as the law under which humanity exists. For when we speak of educa- tion, I think we are apt to fall into this mistake, that we regard those who are not at school as entirely uneducated. That is not the fact. Providence, in its benevolent dispensations, has ordained that we should not be able to live in an intellectual atmosphere, such as has been created in this country, without intelligence being touched by it, stimulated by it, and in some measure developed by it, even though none of the external means are used for that purpose ; and in the course which is pursued we take copy by the same pattern. Nature is continually teaching us : the changing seasons with their diversities are God's picture-book for his infant scholars ; the wise, the far-seeing, and the learned, they are his monitors to all-instruct their several classes ; minds, and factories, and stars, are the implements of his task, they are his oratory and laboratory j there we are called to pursue our studies, there we are to make our acquaintance with His works, and in learning more of them to learn more of ourselves, and, we may reverently ad ,d more of our Creator also." 3ir. Heywood, Mr. Cobbett, and others, also addressed the meeting before it separated.

Mr. Fox's constituents took advantage of his presence in Oldham to extract from him a speech on the past session. Mr. Fox met them on Wed- nesday. They attended in great numbers, and had the satisfaction of hearing their Member comment in rhetorical and well-turned periods on the peace, the principal bills of last session, the absence of measures of domestic improvement, the disjointed condition of the Tories, and the prospects of the future. Mr. Fox described the two Houses as "waiters upon Providence "—and Palmerston.

One of the candidates for Colchester, Mr. W. R. Havens, has issued an address to the electors containing a concise declaration of his views-

" I love free trade; I hold that every man who pays taxes should be free; I long for a reform in the Government ; I want merit, and not favour to rule ; and I would gladly see the union between Church and State dis- solved."

The Herts Agricultural Society took the field, and afterwards rallied round the table, at Hitchin, on Wednesday, under advantageous cir- cumstances. There was not only the ordinary crowd of county mag- nates —the Marquis of Salisbury, Mr. Delme Radcliffe, Mr. J. A. Smith, Mr. Puller, Mr. Bosanquet,—but Sir Edward Lytton, in addition to himself, carried Mr. Dallas, the American Minister, to the feast. Sir Edward presided, and did not fail to do due honour to his distinguished guest ; proposing his health, and " Lasting concord between America and England." Mr. Dallas replied briefly, but warmly, to the praises of his host, and reciprocated the good feeling everywhere displayed to- wards himself. In his capacity of chairman, Sir Edward Lytton,.- as orator for the county, delivered a long speech in proposing prosperity to the Society. He took credit for facilitating the withdrawal of the Agricultural Statis- tics Bill, which he described as " bad" ; and projected a plan for the col- lection of those statistics. A good bill would dispense altogether with the machinery of the Poor-law Board, " or any board connected with rates and taxes." The statistics should be collected by the Statistical Department of the Board of Trade, through the agency of the agricultural societies. The farmer should have the option of sending returns, or not ; and if he sent them, of transmitting them sealed to the Board of Trade if he chose. This

i view is supported by the experience of Belgium and Scotland, where the statistics are collected with great clearness and excellence on the voluntary

principle; the application of that principle to England would not be less successful than in those countries.

The other practical remark in Sir Edward's speech was a warning. He trusted that we should not again fall into the error that " the world has grown too enlightened for war." He hoped the Militia would be carefully maintained. I desire, too, that we may now take this occasion to intro- duce into our various civil, military, and commissariat departments, those modern improvements which may be suggested by our own experience or by the enlightened observation of foreign armies ; and I desire this the more because I cannot contemplate the state of the Continent without the most serious anxiety, and a twin belief that, sooner than is generally expected, some employment will be found for those large standing armies upon which the thrones of so many kings may depend. Do not believe that this is not to the purpose ! Do not believe that this does not relate to you; for where is there a class in the kingdom which is so earnestly interested in the ques- tion of peace or war as that class which lives by the land ? "

The annual exhibition of the East Cumberland Agricultural Society was held at Carlisle on Saturday. There was a splendid display of horses, but the exhibition of cattle appears to have been less satisfactory. The annual dinner was attended by Mr. Henry Howard of Greystoke Castle, chairman, Sir James Graham, Mr. Salkeld of Holmehill, Sir John Maxwell of Springkell, and Mr. Philip Howard of Corby. The Border Baronet was the principal speaker ; but, in obedience to a general hint from the chairman, he avoided politics, and confined himself to celebrat- ing his own share in passing several important measures ; to recommend- ing the farmers to use the plough less, and grow more green crops ; to turn some attention to flax; to cultivate the Galloway breed ; and to ob- tain long leases. One passage in his speech is a curiosity, and provoked some discussion.

" Sir John Maxwell hopes that the Emperor of Russia may reign over a free and loyal people. That he will reign over a loyal people, a cordial people, I fully hope and believe. That he will reign. over a free people I do not expect; and as an agriculturist I do not much desire it, for if there be dan- ger to a foreigner, one thing is obvious—namely, that that danger must arise from freedom on the part of the cultivators of the soil. Excuse me if I record a sentiment which I read the other day—a sentiment which de- noted great and profound wisdom. Montesquieu, in visiting England nearly a century ago, was struck with the superior produce of England in comparison with that of France, and he wondered at that superiority on perceiving our climate so very inferior. He saw at once that our soil was not nearly so good as that-of France ; and he makes this reflection ' That the produce of land depends leas on the fertility of the soil than on the freedom of the cultivator.' A profound observation, general as conceived by him, true to the letter in its application. Now, just reflect for a'moment. What is the immediate cause of the immense produce of the United States of Ame- rica? Why, the freedom of the cultivator. What is the distinguishing mark of the success of the yeomanry of Cumberland ?—The freedom of the cultivator. What is the advantage of long leases, an advantage which I have always contended for?—The freedom of the tenant. And I never shall entertain the slightest apprehension of foreign rivalry till I see that all Europe possesses that freedom. It is, as Montesquieu says, not on the fertility of the soil, but on the relative freedom of agriculture it depends ; and it is our boast that in this country especially we do enjoy to the greatest extent a fair division of the land."

Captain James said, Montesquieu's remark might apply to the age when he wrote, but it does not apply now. He had seen something of Canada, and something of the United States. In the latter country, he had himself known a field to be sown with wheat for twenty-five years in succession—wheat quite as good as any produced in Cumberland; and he did not see that the freedom of the people had anything to do with that. Sir James Graham retorted with a question—" I should like to know whether that field was in a Slave State or a Free ?" There was also some sparing on local points between Sir James and "my Scotch neighbour" Sir John Maxwell.

The Protestant Association has, it appears, issued a circular protesting against the sending of Episcopal letters to incumbents enjoining them to preach in aid of the Society for the Diffusion of Christian Knowledge and the Society for the Proplgation of the Gospel. Formerly the Queen directed the preaching of sermons in that behalf; the Royal letter has been withdrawn, and the Protestant Association thinks that the Episcopal letters tend to reimpose the yoke, and place the clergy in the position of either disregarding their Bishop or violating their conscience. At an anni- versary meeting of the Propagation of the Gospel Society in the Exeter Guildhall, on Thursday sennight, the Bishop of Exeter presided, and made a speech especially referring to the Protestant circular. He looked upon it as " absolutely astounding "—" scarcely credible." He had never called upon his clergy to advocate a cause they did not approve ; he never heard of a bishop who had done so. "This is only a specimen, I am afraid, of a spirit that prevails—a spirit which I have no hesitation to say would, if it were able, act on the same principles, and do as was done some two hundred years ago—it would pull down the Church of England, extinguish Episco- pacy, and overturn both the Church and the State : that would be a necessary consequence of can•ying out the principle on which these gentlemen act. What possible harm is there in a bishop asking his clergy, if they think fit, to exercise their discretion in addressing their people in favour of these two Societies ?—Societies, let me say, that have the Royal charter; not granted in a time when Popery was particu- larly prevalent, for it was granted in the reign of Witham the Third !—I

say two Popish Societies have the authority of King William the Third. I am not aware of any feeling of dislike to these Societies ; I am sure I know of none among the clerical order in the Church ; for, though there may be perhaps, some who call themselves Churchmen who do so complain, yet in the name of our Church I disclaim all such principles." Only a small proportion of the clergy of the Exeter diocese had joined in the movement. ," However, in saying this, and recognizing the names of some of these gentlemen who have subscribed to this movement for the clergy not to preach for these Societies, I must say, my eye glanced upon the name of one who I thought would not feel much pain in opposing his bishop —I mean the Reverend James Shore, of Bridgetown, Totness. I wish all the Reverend James Shores, and persons of that kind would declare them- selves. This name, be it remembered, is in the list of those gentlemen who are anxious, for the interests of the Church, for bishops not to take too much upon themselves. This name is a strong indication of the feeling shared in by the gentlemen whose names are attached to this circular. I AM ashained to occupy so much of your time. I do not mean to say the matter is in itself one worthy of much consideration ; for it is an act of gross folly—a marvellous folly : but also at the same time that it is a very foolish action, it is an indication of which way the wind blows; for these straws—I regard this in itself as a mere straw—show how strong the Anti- Church spirit prevails among a large and powerful body."

Mr. John Chapman, of Motteram, late High Sheriff of Cheshire, is now building a church, schoolhouse, and parsonage, at Carlecotes, near Penistone in Yorkshire, entirely at his own cost. The outlay for the church will be about 50001. The moorland and almost mountainous dis- trict of Carlecotes was in much need of a church. Mr. Edward Chap- man, son of the founder, laid the chief corner-stone on the 19th.

Bristol has shown its gratitude to Mr. Henry Berkeley for his nine- teen years of service, and his exertions in repealing Mr. Wilson l'atten's Sunday Beer Bill, by presenting him with a testimonial, consisting of a salver and a casket, and golden purse. The casket bore the following inscription-

" This casket enriched with gems obtained from St. Vincent's rocks, Bristol Hot-we i was made from an oak beam taken from the North porch of the church of t. Mary Redeliff, Bristol, (which pariah was formerly the town of Radclaivea, a feudal possession of the Lords of Berkeley,) was on the 24th day of September 1866 together with a silver salver and purse of gold, presented to the Hon. F. H. F. Berkeley, M.P. for Bristol, as a testimonial (amounting in value to 10121.) given by 14,000 Englishmen of all classes in recognition of his manly advocacy of the people's rights in the Commons House of Parliament."

The ceremonial of presentation took place at the Bristol Athenicum on Wednesday.

Vice-Chancellor Kindersley sat at Bury St. Edmunds on Wednesday, to hear petitions from shareholders of the Royal British Bank, praying for an order to wind up the affairs of the Company. The petitions were opposed by the directors ; but the Vice-Chancellor granted the order required by the shareholders.

Another death from mistake in dealing with medicine ! Martha Lenten, an inmate of the Lancaster Lunatic Asylum was to take a dose of "house medicine "—salts and senna • it was administered by a matron from a bottle duly labelled; soon der taking it the patient became very ill, and though surgeons were quickly summoned, she expired. It appears that the house-porter, in the absence of the superintendent and assistant of the sur- gery, had replenished, as he had done on former occasions, the bottle of "house medicine " ; but instead of takingeit from the properjar, ho filled the bottle from a jar of laudanum. The Coroner's Jury found that the label on the laudanum-jar was so stained and worn as to be illegible. The Jury were convinced that the sad affair was accidental ; but they considered there had been great neglect, and they recommended an increase of attendants in the dispensary.

In this degenerate age public buildings are not constructed to show a late posterity what we could do, but they tumble down almost before they are completed. Thus, early on Wednesday morning, a fine new Independent chapelin the Gothic " st yle "—not of Gothic " solidity "—recently erected in the: Bury New Road, Manchester, fell in. Fortunately, nobody was near at the time, and there are no buildings contiguous. The fall is ascribed to "some defects of construction."