Current:

Leader (1850-1860), 26th November 1853, Edition Country of 2, Page 6

Page 6
Page 6
6 of 24

On this page

  • Text (3)
  • Transcript

    • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

      Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

      The Uury Ath.Kn7eum. Tuniy Hao Had An Ed...

      and that it is better to give men education than keep them without it . " If there is a cause for apprehension in regard to education at the present day , it is rather that we may perhaps be laying too much stress upon what may be called the purely utilitarian and material part of education . I do not mean to deny that every invention and every discovery by which a man increases the power of mankind over nature , is a great result aiot only to the" individual but to tjie world , but the number of such discoveries is comparatively small , and to each man , I believe , the great end of education should be , not the vague and uncertain prospect of obtaining future results for the world at large , but that

      certain reward which he himself will reap , m the increase of the intellectual powers , and consequently the augmentation of happiness . I don't believe that any man has ever obtained great results in literature or in science who did not love literature and science for then * own sakes . ( Applause . ) I believe it has occasionally been urged against institutions like the present , that those who promote them attach , in the scheme of life , too great and exorbitant a value to these as compared with other matters . I think we must all feel that to any man knowledge cannot be every tiling ; that knowledge is power , but that power

      may be dangerous . Knowledge brings responsibility ; and for him who errs with the power conferred by knowledge it had been better that he had remained in ignorance . J 3 ut these results are- not in our hands , and all that we say is this—that the desire for knowledge is natural to man—that it is one of the strongest instincts implanted in him by the Author of his being ; and that , being so , it is an impulse which he is bound to follow , and that we are bound , so far as in our power lies , to aid him in following it . That is the object we propose to ourselves , —to remove out of the path of the student , especially the poor student , all those material obstacles which would encumber and retard his

      progress . The results must be left to the efforts of the individual himself , and you may be content to leave them contentedly and cheerfully in the hands of an overruling Providence . ( Loud applause . )" The Rev . Mr . Thorburn then read a report , giving a history of the origin of the institution . The site oi the present building had been gratuitously granted them by the late Earl of Derby , who had enhanced the gift by a donation of 100 guineas . Might such liberality ever distingush that illustrious house , and bring down upon it , to the latest posterity , the compensations of Providence and the benedictions of society . The building had been erected at a cost of 48751 ., and this had been met by subscriptions up to 44811 ., leaving a balance due to the treasury of about 393 / ., which it was hoped would soon be supplied by further public contributions .

      The Bishop of Manchester here rose , and observed that , while lie did not wish to depart in the slightest degree from acknowledging the liberality of the house of Derby , and was perfectly willing to hope and pray that the blessings of Providence mi ght rest upon them , he could never consent to adopt the form that the " compensations" of Providence may do so ; and he trusted , therefore , that he might not be called upon to move an amendment to substitute the word '' blessings" for " compensations . " The Rev . Mr . Thorburn said , as far as he was concerned , the alteration might be made at once ; he believed the word " compensations" had simply been adopted from some of Bishop Butler ' s arrangements .

      Ihe . bishop of Manchester , Dr . Vaughan , Mr . Cheetham , M . P ., and others , nlso addressed the company . The building has been erected at a cost of 5000 / . ; of that , nearly 1200 / . was subscribed by twelve persons , and a little less than one-half the whole was furnished in sums exceeding bl .

      1134 The L E Ad Er. [Saturday;

      1134 THE L E AD ER . [ Saturday ;

      "Mr. Washington." In The New York Corres...

      "MR . WASHINGTON . " In the New York correspondence of tho Time * this week occurred tho following- paragraph : — " Severe strictures havo been passed upon Mr . Thackeray for saying , in speaking of acerlain event that occurred , ' When Mr . Washington was heading tho American rebels with a courage , it must be confessed , worthy of a better cause . ' It was hoped that a mini of ho much perception and sagacity as Mr . Thackeray has hud credit ; for , would havo avoided any of IJioho ofleriHive flings which have too often appeared in the works of foreign writers when speaking of the Unitod States . TJiat single passage lost Mr . Thackeray 11 grout many friends in America ., and they wore friends who admired his genius , hut who love their country a great deal hotter than him , or any other writer . Nor in it supposed that muh expressions fall gratefully upon the ear /) of intelligent Englishmen . Those things may seem very trivial to an author who writes voluminously , hut no Englishman who in looking for lasting fame among the Anglo Saxon rue * , . should forget that , already tho majority of his readers aro found on Mutt Hide of the Athml ie ; anil writers who have their eye fixed upon tho future should , above all others , roinoinhor that in a humane and an enlightened ago like this , any disrespectful or malignant word dropped iigninntnn entire nation will ' return to plague its inventor . ' It in not Htrang-o that tho New York eoriOHpondont of tho 7 'imftt should nee an " offoiiHive Hint ? " in theBo words . Ho generally hooh things that do not exiwt . Mr . Thackeray ha-H , however , condescended to notice the absurd interpretation put upon tho pannage alluded toiu the following letter to tho Times : — "Sjk , —Allow mo a word of explanation in answer to a strange charge which has been brought against me in the United States , and which your Now York correspondent has made public in this country . " In the first number of a periodical story which 1 am now

      publishing , appears a sentence , in which I should never have thought of . finding any harm until it had been discovered by some critics over the water . The fatal words are these : — " ' When pigtails grew on the backs of the British gentry , and their wives wore cushions on their heads , over which they tied their own hair , and disguised . it with powder and pomatum ; when Ministers went in their stars and orders to the House of Commons * and the orators of the Opposition attacked nightly the noble lord in £ he blue riband ; when Mr . Washington was heading the American rebels with a courage , it must be confessed , worthy of a better cause—there came to London , out of a northern country , Mr ., ' & c .

      " This paragraph has been interpreted in America as an insult to Washington and the whole Union ; and , from the sadness and gravity with ' which , your correspondent quotes certain of my words , it is evident he , too , thinks they have an insolent and malicious meaning . " Having published the American critic ' s comment , permit the author of a faulty sentence to say what he did mean , and to add the obvious moral of the apologue which has been so oddly construed . I am speaking ot a young apprentice coming up to London between the years 1770-80 , and want to depict a few figures of the last century . ( The illustrated head-letter of the chapter was intended to represent Hogarth ' s industrious apprentice . ) I fancy the old society with its hoops and powder—Barreor Fox thundering at Lord North asleep on the Treasury-bench—the news readers at the coffee-roOm talking over the paper , and owning that this 3 Mr . Washington , who was leading the

      rebels , was a very courageous soldier , and worthy of a better cause than fighting against King George . The images are at least natural and prett y consecutive . 1776—the people in London in ' 76—the Lords and House of Commons in ' 76— -Lord North—Washington—what the people thought about Washington—I am tlnnking about ' 76 . Where , in the name of common sense , is the insult to 1853 ? The satire , if satire there be , applies to us at home , who called Washington ' Mr . Washington ; ' as we called Frederick the Great ' the Protestant Hero , ' or Napoleon ' the Corsican tyrant , ' or ' General Bonaparte / Need I say that our officers were instructed ( until they were taught better manners ) to call Washington ' Mr . Washington ?' and that the Americans were called rebels during the whole of that contest ? Kebels!—of course they were rebels ; and I should like to know what native American would not have been a rebel in that cause ? "As irony is dangerous , and has hurt the feelings of kind friends whom I would not wish to offend , let me say , in perfect faith and gravity , that I think the cause for which Washington fought entirely just and right , and the champion the very noblest , purest , bravest , best of God ' s men . " I am , sir , your very faithful servant , "W . M . Thackeeat . " Athcnceum , Nov . 22 . "

      Corporation Reform. In His Evidence On T...

      CORPORATION REFORM . In his evidence on Tuesday before tho Commission , Mr . Bennoch went through the accounts . I have gone over the corporation accounts with great care , and I think it right to say I have not discovered any instance of malversation or peculation on the part of any member of the corporation . The expense of administering the affairs of the corporation is , however , reckless and extravagant to a degree . The whole income of the corporation m 1852 , as shown b y the blue book , is close to 4 . 00 , 000 / ., and the expenses' of administering tho fund is 107 , 874 / ., which includes salaries , 38 , 6722 . ; legal ditto , 14 , 700 / . ; law costs , 4000 ? . ; pensions to retired officers , & c , 3 (> 44 Z . ; pensions to relations of Aldermen , 580 Z . ; Parliamentary expenses , 1467 / . ; committees , 2000 / . ; expounds by doorkeeper , 4000 / . ; & c . The result of the whole appears to bo that the corporation pays 107 , 874 / . for administering the balance of 255 , 327 / . The disbursements by the hall-keopor include a sum of 133 Z . for cloth supplied to her Majesty ' s Ministers , 12 b 7 . for writing and cmblazoning a vote of thanks to Alderman Sidney , a further mim of 2 ( 52 / . lor emblazoning an address presented to tho city of Paris , and various other very largo stuns for apparently small services . I have prepared an account , showing in detail tho various heads of expenditure and tho sources of income . I find in tho account a sum of

      19 , 0 O 0 £ . for lodging-houses for the labouring poor in Finsbury ; but tho foundations of tho buildings have not yet been laid . The money , I suppose , is reserved for tho purpose . Mr . Labouehere . —Has the City expended anything in balliH and wnsh-housoH p Mr . Bermoch . —Not a penny , except an occasional sub - scription of 50 / . to institutions of the kind in the neighbourhood of tho City . Mr . Labouchere . —Have they taken any moans to improve tho dwellings of tins poor P Mr . Honnoch . — My m > means ; and in eases whore they have pulled down t ) ie housos of tho poor to make now HtrwtH , they have done nothing to supply thorn with bettor dwellings .

      Mr . Bcnnoeh advocates n , groat reduction of Halurioa and oflieeH , and on thin head , ako , Juh evidence ) in valuable . "i have got ii statement , showing tho population , number <> 1 houses ) and municipal charges of London , Liverpool , Manchester , Kdiiumrgh , and ( Ihisgow , and I have compared them , with a view of showing tho relative positions of all towards each other . I ( hid that tho City of . London has a resident population of 127 , 000 persons ; Liverpool or : » 7 « , ( MK » j Manchester of » l « , 2 i : ); Edinburgh oi 1 ( K ) , ! M > 2 ; and ( JluMguw of 320 , 097 . Tho aggregate of siilnrwH for analogous ofliees in London is 31 , 7877 . ; in Liverpool , 1 ) 8 ( 55 / . ; » , MuUehent . er , 5774 / . ; Edinburgh , 1781 )/ . ; and for ( Jla , < tfr « , ) 10757 . J find that tho expenses oi salaries in London , taken in proportion with the population of Livorpool , should bo 3354 / . ; with tho population

      of Manchester , 23367 . ; with the population of Edinburgh 1428 / . ; and with the population of Grlasgow , 418 / . The aggregate expenditure ot the corporation in connexion -with their offices exceeds that of the whole Federal Govern ™ P « f of the United States . " yumnent But the most Btriking part of his evidence is an original scheme for the government of London by municipalities .. It has already attracted a good deal of notice , and we append it in full . " SCHEME . " 1 . That the representative system be maintained in its . full integrity . " 2 . That the metropolis be divided into nine municipalities . " 3 . That each municipality be divided into wards , " 4 . That each ward have one alderman and six councillors . " Taking the City of Xondon as an example , which con ^ tains : — Houses . Maleg . Females . TotaI Within the walls ... 7174 ... 26 , 550 ... 28 , 152 ... 64 ^ 702 " Without the walls , ~ ] including Inner Temple , Middle do . l ^ Sdo * 7 ™ »• 36 , 147 ... 37 , 020 ... 75 , 167 Clifford ' s do . Thavies' do . part of Furnival ' s do . 14 , 580 62 , 697 65 , 172 127 , 869 The number of persons rated at and above 10 ? . ia 10 , 761 , which , when divided into twelve wards , gives an average of nearly 140 O constituents in each ward ; these would return 12 aldermen and 72 councillors—in all , 84 representatives . Although about 130 , 000 appears to be the number of inhabitants who reside in the City ' of London , it is estimated that , during the day , at least 250 , 000 more pursue their avocations within its limits ; it is therefore clear that tlie larger portion of its population is contributed by the surrounding districts ; thus , it differs from all others , and cannot , m this respect , be taken as an example . In thisscheme 300 , 000 is taken as the average of the City . " 5 . The municipalities into which it is proposed to dividethe metropolis are :- —1 . City Proper ; 2 . Tower Hamlets p 3 . Finsbury ; 4 . Marylebone ; 5 . "Westminster ; 6 . Kensington ; 7 . Lambeth ; 8 . Southwark ; 9 . Greenwich antT Deptford . " 6 . Each municipality to have 12 wards , 12 aldermen , and 72 councillors , as proposed for the City Proper . " 7 . All councillors to be elected on the same day ; onethird to retire annually , but qualified for re-election . " 8 . All aldermen to be elected on the same day ; onethird to retire triennially , but qualified for re-election . " 9 . That the aldermeu and councillors be elected by the registered ratepayers . " 10 . That the mayor be elected annually by the Aldfer ' men and councillors , and have an allowance of 600 / . per " annum . " 11 . That each municipality appoint four aldermen and 12 councillors to form a central council , which would thus consist of 144 members , viz ., 36 aldermen and 108 councillors . " 12 . That each municipalit y in rotation have the right of nominating the Lord Mayor , and that he bo elected by the whole constituency of his municipality , but not necessarily from the body of aldermen . " 13 . That tho Lord Mayor preside over all meetings of the central council , and reside at the Mansion-house , with an allowance of 5000 / . per annum . " 14 . That each municipality in rotation have the riffhtt of nominating the Sheriff of London ; that ho bo elected by the whole constituency of his municipality , have an allowance of 1000 / . per annum , and be ex qfficio a member oj the central council . " 15 . That tho Sheriff of Middlesex bo nominated by the ' Crown ; tho two sheriffs to have the care of prisoners , & c , aa at present . " 10 . That should any municipality decline to nominnto or elect tho Lord Mayor or Sheriff , tho ripjut sliall fall to the next municipality in rotation on tho list ; Buch list m the first instance to be determined by lot . " 17 . That the central council have the general management of all lighting and police , water and sowers , river and bridges , improvements and streets , finance , rates , am rents , general purposes , education and charities , under ili » immediate superintendence of committees , which mig'i bear names analogous to tho duties to bo performed . _ " 18 . That each municipality carry out tho various ^ works to bo executed within its own limits which may havo received tho sanction of tho central council . " 19 . Thnfc for tho more perfect nanitary condition of tlie ; metropolis , tho whole district , of London , within a radius oi ton miles from St . Paul's , bo surveyed , and no streets Imv laid out or houses built unions approved of by tho con '; ' * council , and certified by the surveyor iih capablo ot !><» " (? thoroughly drained . . .. rt " " 130 . ThnUho construction of all bridges or fltoam i « rr «» across tlic TluimcH bo under tho control of tho river an « bridge committee of tho central council , and paid lor »> y general ruto ; all bridges to bo free , but on nil iorriOfi a m » ¦ bo charged , just fliifneient to defray expenses M ' '"' Hiiro thoir proper maintenance . r . " 21 . That all persons occupying promises an < l pay" J . rales havo tho right of voting , and 1101 m other- . " 22 . That the expenses of tho local council or man 1 _ pality bo raised by a rato levied on tho inhabitant 01 own district . , ., 1 iil () " 23 . That tho expenses of tho central council , «""•' . , cost of all workH of a general nature owicuW l " ' k , jj bo mot b y a poufcrul rato levied on tho inhabitant 01 «• tho inunicipaliliofi .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 26, 1853, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_26111853/page/6/