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    carried the day . It is true there is no lack of scfcefnes veitB . this party ; prize schemes , and certificate schemes , and half-time schemes ,, and numberless other appliances for enticing- the unwary "boy into school . Por , as the Bishop of Oxford expressed it , they want not schools for the children , but children for the schools . ' In other words , the man must be made to fit the coat , not the coat the man . Therefore , * voting' began in all its glory on the third and final day of the Conference . Tt was of no use whatever that Sir Jobcn "

    PAKiNGToisr told the assembly that one great cause of the children ' s being * taken early from school was the " badness of the schools , a fact which he proved from the returns of the official school-inspectors themselves . Great cries of "No ! no ! " received the assertion of the Honourable Baronet . Pacts are such disagreeable things to people who onl y know dogmas ; so that if facts cannot- be answered , they must be- cried down" f

    Another instance occurred on this same final Conference meeting . Mr . IRoBEitT Owes wished to say something about his own educai ^ onal plans ; afber great trouble , and only with the reporters' help , he had reached the platform ; but here the power to speak was refused him , by a ' vote * of the meeting . How they laughed and sneered at the old man who stood there with his grey beard and his burden of eighty years ! At the old man who had done more for the

    education of English workmen than all the rest of-the ' voters' put together . For Eobekt Owes" is not only known as one of the many propounded of the ' Socialist' principlethat principle which is already creeping into the books of the political economists , and is admitted by many in conversation who would shrink from avowing their opinion- ^ -he was among the first to prove , experimentally , that the young can be educated and still employed . And his evidence took possession of the

    public , high as well as low . Ministers listened to his earnest appeals . Two of the Koyal Dukes ,, Kent and Sussex , we believe , sat as joint chairmen atone of Owen ' s many public meetings . But time has passed by , and the philanthropist has grown very old , very deaf , not quite certain of his sight , not quite sure of what is passing around at the momenthis thoughts , always kind , always generous , filled with , the past and the future . Whatever parties may think of Eobeet Owen and

    his plans , we say , it is a burning shame that men attending such a meeting should sneer at him yrho , above all men , is worthy of thanks as long as New Lanark Schools are remembered . In justice , nowever , to the noble chairman , Earl G ^ BAJrviiiiiia , and his supporters , the Marquis of Xansdowne and the Bishop of Oxford , it must be mentioned ttiat they treated ! 'Mir . Owen with all possible deference and politeness . Perhaps there was even a slight sarcasm pointed at the meeting , in the

    opening speech of Lord Gbanviixe , when he said that he expected more indirect than direct' xesiilts from the Educational Conference P These indirect results , it is true , are * plenty as blackberries , ' and it would be more than wonderful ,, if out of so much seed , not a little fruit should grow . The question is , what fruit have we , who shall cultivate , and who shall gather it ? We do not forget that the first ideas which were mooted' afc the polite meeting , were' propagated bv men that would have formed perhaps , little consideration in one of such exalted rank . Among the people- * -and it is Btity among the people that ; the real work 3 » u ^ U 0 < U > ne—the difficulty is this . You winy jrtrovide teachers -- 1 > ut they have

    no * yet been : provided ; you may provide schools— 'but they have not yet been- either built or opened for the whole ; but when all is done , the people cannot send their children , because , not having enough to live upon , needing every help to get them through the work of the week and to earn enough for food and lodging , and clothing if possible , the

    parents are obliged to let the young assist . In innumerable cases they know well enough —as well as some of the philanthropist * in Willis ' s Rooms—that they lay themselves open to the charge of being undutiful to their progeny ; but how can they help it ? It is » choice ' between , letting Johnny or Tommy have a better education for his advantage a

    few years hence , or getting food now , and being allowed to remain in the lodging over Sattrrday night . When schools are provided , and opened by teachers—and prayers—they are bad . Sir John Pakiitgton says so . If they were good—if . JoHiranr or Tommy had a chance of being really made a man—both father and mother would undergo immense sacrifices to let him remain . But then the instruction should be perfectly free . There is no reason why the whole community should not provide even food for the children of the whole

    community . In other words , if the Commonwealth , Peers and Parliament as well as Prince and patriots , could be brought to perceive the plain common sense of the subject , in all parts of the country public schools would be open , with teachers paid by the public , and free admission for children of every class ; and the schools -would be so good that even the working classes would send their children to

    them . Are we without an example ? No ; the TTnrted States furnished the working model of this great public law ; and the TJnited States , be it observed , are now pursuing a career of prosperity under public men educated by that law ; while it is well known that , with all the fast life of the Republic , there is a larger and more general consumption of literature than in any country of the world .

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    THE DUCHY OF LANCASTER . Owe of the members' tea-rooms in the House of Commons has been made the scene of a pretty exposure this week j the worst , the most dramatic details , are to come ; but , so far , the scandal has ripened not at all slowly . We have now evidence , where before we had only rumours . "When the inquiry is complete , the entire story will bear repetition : btit , apologizing to the Beetolaooi Committee , we have entered upon our own papers a few minutes of its proceedings . There appears to be no denying that the auditor of the Duchy of Lancaster is , by virtue of his office , entitled to' attend the Council , that such has been the regular practice , that Mr . BEBTOLAOor took an oath to perform his duties in a certain fashion , and that systematic impediments were put in his way . The officers of the departments legally accountable to him were allowed to treat him with practical contumacy ; the Chancellor

    was in the habit of acting unconstitutionally without the aid of the Council . In fact , illegality was the order of the day . Why , and for ¦ whoso benefit ? Mr . Ootsingham , we thought , elicited some of tho truth when he asked whether . JJord Belper , when Chancellor of- tho Duchy , had not instructed tho auditor ' to see whether any portion of the large amounts of rent then in nrrear could not-be struck ou ' t as ^ recoverable . '

    Evidence was put in to that effect . So that is the way in . which they administer tho public estates . Tho auditor is a useful man when he can strike out as irrecoverable the rents due by My Iiord and My Dear Sir . At other

    times , for any checkc he was permitted to use they might have given- him a blank » S to . sign , and written in the figures aftervS , We cannot understand , however whv rml lie servants , with fair salaries , should C any scruples ; at all events , they ma , as Sin abandon those diseased habits of mmd afW the penal example that has been made bv Mr Bertolacci . He was intrusive , clearlv He thought that when public property was sold it should be disposed of to the highest bidder ; but the idea was scouted . It nnVht give rise to ' malignant or vexatious conipeti tion , ' and the Crown might make too good a bargain . .

    Still less can we understand why the auditor , after being rebuked for meddling with " the accounts , did not certify , in the terms of his oath , that he had examined and found them correct . We have heard evidence that he was amply chid , even by the faithful Mr . DaitveksI Mr . Danvebs was clerk , and one day he was conversing with the auditor when

    ! Lord Watbbpaek , an axe-bearer ( not an executioner or a woodman ) , entered the room . "I wish to speak to you about that wood , " he said . Mr . Danvers answered , hurriedly , " Oh , yes , " shut up the dialogue , and introduced the auditor . The auditor was present , consequently there was to be no mention of transactions . We are anxious to know what

    the noble Lord's concerned will have to state in reply , particularly Earl Granville . It would not be surprising to hear of that great personage being slightly nervous , although a well known expert in affairs of this nature . His agitation , nowever , is not discreditable to Mm ; the case looks very Mack at present ; neither Mr . Estgoxtrt , nor any other anxious friend of the absent , was able to trip up Mr .

    BURTOiiACd , although two or three attempts were made to siirprise him . The evidence becomes more powerful every day that the inquiry is carried on ; but , as we have said , we are not yet in the depths of the mystery ; let us hope the officials will be searchingly cross-questioned , so that justice maybe done .

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    EDUCATION IN THE ARMY . The resolutions which Sir Db La . cy Evaws is to move on the 30 th instant will at least have the effect of bringing the Government and the Parliament decisively to the question whether or not education is to be introduced into the Army ; whether or not a knowledge of his profession is to secure admission for

    the officer . The resolutions might have been couched in other language ; we could imagine ten or twenty diiferent forms in which the same propositions , or propositions nearly similar , might have been laid before the House of Commons ; but it is felt bv the author of the resolutions , and by the eminent nersous who are ready to support Sir 1 > B

    Lact , that the question does not hinge upon tho phraseology of the resolutions , as it they were a Parliamentary bill , but upon their coining to the point . They are a form of expression for the broad question which we have put , and , what is more , they will be supported by men within _ tho House of Commons , as they wi 1 be watched by the public out of doors , because they arc regarded as tho lever lor putting tMi broad question . They my to Ministers , < Aro or are you not ia « unert f

    you Ministers have professed their willinfifnow to answer the question in the aflirjruitive , indeed they say they nro already doing «> > and some practical steps have been tnKen . The Commander-in-chief has issued t « £ general orders , all bearing upon the « ut > jeo * . One directed thnt officers admitted tc tw StafT should undergo examination , ftl ™ & , on each promotion , in order to prove tueir

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    & * g * T » EEAJfrgiy TNo . ST ^ Satxthi ^

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), June 27, 1857, page 614, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2199/page/14/