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Leader (1850-1860), 18th July 1857, Edition 1 of 2, Page 679, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      Mr Gladstone ; proceeded to show the superiority of th * old method , of classical education over the modern ¦ vstem . of confining instruction in languages to those which are still spoken . The utilitarians , he observed , ¦ would ! limit education * to what is simply practical ; but , by the same rule which declares that a man ought to learns French , and disregard . Greek and Latin , it might be said that he had better not learn even French , but jrive . all Ms time to the making of coats and waistcoats . Masses of nonsense had been talked and written on the subject . ; but the instincts of mankind are often wiser than their reason ,, and so the very persons who advocate

      the modern views on this subject by their tongues and their pens , practically disavow them by sending their sons , to Eton , Harrow , Winchester , and those other schools where classical education is given . If that is « n inconsistency on the part of the parents , it is a happy one At the present day , there is an impatience in men ' s minds of any result that , is distant . Such shallow persons might ask , " What is the use of the electric telegraph ? " on . merely seeing the poles and wires , which might seem-to them erected for some idle purpose , though through those wires , is passing the mind of the world . Mr . Gladstone proceeded : ¦— classicalliterature

      " Is not that the case with ancient - ? Are its results not . seen in the character of the men produced in this country ? If it is found that the minds of men under that mode of education are better fitted for all the active duties of life than in other countries wkere it ia disregarded , is this not a demonstration to satisfy reasonable men that , although the results may come slowly , and may be at the moment invisible , they must persevere with their labours ; and then they will gain what is desired- —to enable their children to discharge all the varied duties of life . { Applause . * ) That is the practical issue which we must be content to abide ; and all that I ask is that we be not tried . by the test of immediate utility . If the objector will only be content to take the results of experience—and it is a comprehensive school—that is the tribunal to which I should be willing . to carry , it ; for I am convinced that the same the

      amount of practical utility cannot be obtained by substitution of any other system of education . ( Applausei ) . . . . I am willing to make additions and extensions to classical study , but not to imply the loss of what is indeed a delightful as well as useful study , or the substitution of anything directly opposite , however subtle or hoAvever plausible may be the arguments urged . I frankly admit that I rejoice at the study of the ancient classics , because I believe that in no small degree is due to them that love of liberty which is the characteristic of Englishmen , and which is never associated with those wild theories of government which have marked the nineteenth century , and which , I think , show the necessity of such teachers . For , after alL liberty must not be mistaken for licence ; and it often happens that in countries with democratic constitutions the freedom of the body and of the mind is worst understood . If we cross the Atlantic to that wonderful

      republic , America , we shall find that their constitution far more democratic than ours , but that there is far less true liberty . And I will not shrink from expressing the opinion that , although this country has been the happy home of well regulated liberty from a very early period , yet that the love of that liberty and the comprehension ¦ of that liberty have been in no small degree fostered and fortified in us by the great masters of antiquity and the lessons which they have afforded us . ( Applause . ) With respect to the cultivation of taste , when classical literature is condemned there will be such a descent in the taste of this country as will never be recovered from . "

      Mr . Gladstone conceived that the rendering of the classics into English is a far more stringent exercise for the mind than . the study of English writers , because of the acouracy of ancient thought , and the exactitude and copiousness of diction found in the writers of Greece and Homo . The study of those writers ia an exerciso at once severe and delightful ; and it would be difficult to find any other study combining those two opposite qualities . Ab a rule , observed Mr . Gladstono , if you want to find the man who has the greatest aptitude for acquiring , new facts , and the greatest facility for doscribing , thorn to others ,. it . id he who has had a thorough classical , training . Still , wo should not wrap ourselves in . the mists of antiquity , and refuse to open our eyes for . fear of ohango . When , at length numbered with the dead , what amount of respect from ensuing generations

      will those men of our own time obtain , who aru eo prono to condemn preceding eras ? No doubt , Lord Bacon- — who looked . like the inspired master of infallible wisdom —was perfectly right in saying that antiquity was the youth of tho world ; but how aro modern times wluor ? By employing all the wisdom that former tinios accumu- " lated—by assuming possession of that . If , iustoad of this , wo throw overboard all that tho mou of antiquity acquired , wo aro again in a now youth—making a fresh start and another accumulation of knowledge . A still higher vuluo . of the classics Mr . Gladstone concoivod to bo tho lesson they afford that , although tho human intellect attained in the ancient world a ho . ight to which ho feared it would , never reach again , tho heart : of uian bocamo more and more corrupt , tho basest vices wore dovolopod , and tho Divlna light was gone . This lossou Mr . Gladstone believed , to bo especially necessary iu tho

      present times , when scepticism is all but universal ; and he thought that the study of the classics would lead us to look with a more assured faith to the Gospel for those influences which are to guide us through life . After some further toa 3 ts , the meeting broke up .

      Untitled Article

      THE ROYAL VICTORIA . PATRIOTIC ASYLUM . The Queen last Saturday laid the foundation stone of this institution , which arises out of the Patriotic Fund * and which is about to be erected on Wandsworth Common . In front of an amphitheatre were arranged 200 children , viz ., 50 boys from the Duke of York ' s School ( with their band ); 50 boys from the Greenwich School ; 50 girls from the Soldiers' Daughters' Home at Hampstead ; and 50 girls from the Sailors' Daughters' Home . The Queen ' s arrival was announced by a royal salute of twenty-one guns . Her Majesty was accompanied by Prince Albert , the Prince of Prussia , the King and Princess Charlotte of Belgium , the Royal children ( with the exception of the Prince of Wales ) , and the Count of Flanders . On the Queen ' s arrival at the spot where the stone was to be laid , Prince Albert ( as Chairman of the Executive and Finance Committee of the Patriotic Fund ) read an address to her Majesty , which stated that the building was intended for the reception and education of the orphan daughters of those soldiers , seamen , and jnarincs who had fallen in the late war with Russia , and of those who might hereafter lose their lives in the service of their country . The address then referred to the brilliant valour displayed by her Majesty ' s forces in battle against the enemy , and the sympathy which it aroused in every part of the British Empire . It adverted to the

      formation of the Patriotic Fund , which had produced no less a sum than l , 446 , 98 o £ ; 38 , 0007 . were allocated for the purchase of a suitable site , and the erection of buildings for the reception of three hundred girls under fifteen years of age ; and 140 , 0001 . bad been given for an endowment . The orphans admitted into the institution would be carefully instructed in their moral and religious duties , and in addition to a useful elementary education , would be taught those branches of industrial knowledge which would fit them to perform the duties of domestic servants , and make them good wives and mothers .

      The Queen replied" as follows : — " I thank you sincerely for your loyal and affectionate address . 1 gladly avair myself of this occasion to express-the great satisfaction I have ^ derived from the gratifying evidence presented to me of the manner in which my faithful subjects , throughout tlie whole extent of my dominions , and in the most distant parts of the world , have evinced their genuine sympathy with my own feelings and admiration for the gallant conduct and enduring fortitude of my naval and military forces , by their munificent contributions to the fund for the relief of the widows and orphans of the brave men who have fallen in the

      discharge of their duty to their Sovereign and thencountry . You have fully justified the confidence placed in you by your judicious and impartial distribution of these funds , and I entirely approve of tho appropriation of a portion of them to tho erection and permanent endoMTiient of an institution in tho success of which I shall ever feel the warmest interest . I am most happy to take a part in the foundation of this institution ; and I heartily concur with you in committing it to the Divine care and protection , and in praying that the benevolent objects with which it has been designed may be to the fullest extent accomplished . "

      The stone was then laid with the usual forms , tho Queen spreading tho mortar with a silver trowel ; and the conclusion of tho ceremony was announced by a second discharge of artillery .

      Untitled Article

      THE PRINCE OF PRUSSIA IN THE CITY . Prince FnifiDiaticK William of Prussia wus made a citizen of London on Monday . For this occasion , Guildhall waa brightened with as many flags , heraldic dovicos , yards of crimson velvet , mid adornments of gold , as 1501 . would purchase ; so that the somewhat dull place shone , warm and radiant with n summer flush of colour . A brilliant company , including several membora of tho Govorninont and tho aristocracy , and a groat many of the Foreign Ambassadors , filled tho building 5 and , at a little boforo one o ' clock , tho Prince arrivod . A deputation of tho senior alderman then conducted him , accompanied by tho Duke of Cambridge , to tho Lord Mayor and his distinguished guests . Ilia Highness wus received with muoh applause .

      Tho Princo being seatod on tho right hand of tho Lord Mayor , with tho Prussian Ambassador next him , tho minutes of the provious court ( having reference , among other things , to tho conversion of Smithfiold into n dead moat markot ) wcro road over and approved—a nccoasary form boforo proceeding to tho other busiuoBa of tho Court , though having a very absurd oft ' oot ; and Sir John Key , the Chamberlain of the City , roso , and road a soinowhat pompous address , iu tho courao of wluoh there occurred Una passage :- — " Wo may not forgot that tho guoat whom our Quoon has delighted to honour comoa of the Umo-houourou

      house of Brandenburg , is descended of a distinguished line of princes , beginning with one on whom the suffrages of contemporaneous history bestowed the name of ' Great , ' and brought down to the times of one who ha 3 everything of greatness but the name . Yes , Sir , we are not ignorant how grateful to your ears , as- well as to those of your fellow-subjects at home , will be any expressions of respect which this Court may o'ffer to hiul who now fills the throne of your ancestors . If , owing to his lot having been cast upon more settled and peaceful times , he has not exhibited those extraordinary and commanding qualities which , distinguished the founder of his dynasty , or if he can point to fewer of those military trophies by which the immediate successors of that

      great man first raised the electorate to a kingdom , and then consolidated and enlarged its power , yet are there qualities in your Royal relative which , in this country al least , place him higher in the rank of potentates than any of his predecessors—qualities which , more than that genius which laid the foundation of your nation ' s greatness , more than those conquests which enlarged its territorial rule , more than that vigorou 3 intellect which , if it dazzled the people by its brilliancy , dazzled- only to lead astray , entitle him to the love of his subjects and to the moral esteem of mankind . For , Sir , I need scarcely remind you'that we are a

      peaceloving nation . Renowned as we are in the rough strife of war and always ready for it , j r et it is our nobler boast to occupy the advanced post of European civilization ; to be the herald everywhere of social and moral progress ; to hail as brother every potentate and every man . who has at heart the interests of suffering humanity and the cause of pure and undefined religion . And such a one , illustrious Prince , we see in your Roj'al kinsman . " Referring to the contemplated marriage of the Prince to the eldest daughter of our Queen , the address contained a passage strangelygcapable of a double meaning . We re . id : — " You can well understand with what feelings of

      emotion we contemplate tlie separation from us of an illustrious Princess , and how earnestly we pray that she mav find in the , country of her adoption the virtues of an English Court and the happiness of an English home " Of course no such meaning was intended ; but this seems to imply that there is not much chance of such a happy result . The Chamberlain then advanced , and presented the formal document of the Freedo n of the City , enclosed in the usual handsom&Jbox of solid gold . - The Prince replied as ~ follows : — " I thank you very sincerely for the kind sentiments which you have uttered towards my Sovereign , my country , and myself . _ These feelings will be appreciated , I feel certain , by them no less than by me . - It has given me the greatest

      satisfaction to receive from the hands of the municipal "authorities of this ancient city an honour which- I mu ' sTr' ever highly * prize ; and I acknowledge iu the distinction so conferred upon me an additional token of tUe kindly feelings evinced towards me by the British people . I trust that the confidence which they are willing to repose in me will not be unmerited , and that the future happiness of the Princess—my afiiancetl bride—may prove equal to ray endeavours to secure it , and to the devoted and hearty attachment which I bear to the Queen , your Sovereign . ( Applause ") Allow me once more to thank you with all my heart for tho cordiality of your welcome , and to assure you of my most fervent wishes for the welfare and tho prosperity of the City of London . " ( Continued cheering . )

      At the conclusion of the reply , it wns proposed by Mr . Alderman Copeland , and seconded by Mr . J . Vallance , that tho proceedings of tho Court , with tho Prince ' s answer , bo entered upon tho minutes , which was carried num . con . His Hoynl Highness then , accompanied by tho Duke of Cumbriugo , rotirod , amid the same acclamations which hud greeted his arrival , and proceeded to tho Mansion-house , where a collation was provided for his Highness and tho principal guests .

      Untitled Article

      ACCIDENTS AND SUDDIfiN DEATHS . Tun daughter of Mr . Lawfon . 1 , postmaster nt tho House of Commons , has boon burnt to death . Slio wus found lit hor bedroom early last Saturday morning with her night clotlioa on fire . Her mot hue was awakened by hor screams , and tore tho night-dross off ; but tho child , was ao much injured that shu died . Slio appears to havo boon reading by candlelight , anil tho ttniiio is siippoaod to havo caught tho mattress . Tho coroner ' s jury returncd a vordiot of Accidental Death . Miss Lawford waa onlv fifteen . —A little boy , four years old , lias also been killed by firo . Ilia piimforo ignited while ho waa standing on the fonder , and ho died in tlio London Hospital from the burns .

      A barrowload of brioka foil luat Saturday from a height of thirty foot on to tho back of a labourer in tho employ of tho London Dock Compuny , wliilo hlooping during his work at tho basomont of a now building . Ho was not killed , but was removed to tho London Hospital in a precarious state . A man named Julian Ooorgo Brown foil from a window a tow days ago , n depth of forty font . His skull waa fnioturod , and he diod ahnost immediately . Tho lunuoat ou tho bydiod of twelve persons klllod iu

      Untitled Article

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  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), July 18, 1857, page 679, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2201/page/7/