XLIII. 1847. CHAP. twenty-four years, after their first term had expired.* In agreeing, however, to the bill on this ground, he concurred in the strongest manner in the statement as to the infinite superiority of old soldiers over young ones, especially in the commencement of real warfare; and his 1 Parl. Deb. words are alike important as containing the true wisdom. 1029; Ann. on the subject, and as prophetic of the mournful disasters 125, 129. which their oblivion was so soon to bring upon the xcii. 1020, Reg. 1847, 96. cation. British nation.1 + Less momentous in its immediate results, but not less Public edu- So in its ultimate consequences, the important subject of PUBLIC EDUCATION formed the subject of very interesting debates in this session of Parliament. These took place in consequence of the promulgation of certain minutes of the educational committee of the Privy Council, on which Ministers proposed to issue grants of public money for the purposes specified. These were deemed * This was abundantly proved by a fact mentioned by Earl Grey, in his very able speech introducing the bill into the House of Peers: "In 1829 Lord Hardinge introduced the plan of allowing men a free discharge after sixteen years of service, a period reduced to twelve years by Mr Sydney Herbert in 1845; and from a memorandum in Lord Grey's hands, I find that the number of soldiers who, between 1830 and 1844, under the reduced service, were discharged without any gratuity, amounted to fifty-three annually in the whole British army, being less than one man for every two regiments.”—Parl. Deb. xci. 1334. Lord Grey, on this occasion, mentioned a most gratifying fact in regard to the great diminution of corporal punishments in the army, in consequence of the wise and humane changes introduced in recent times,-that while in 1818, out of 28,900 men in foreign stations, 80 men out of every 1000 underwent corporal punishment; last year, in the same stations, the proportion was only 4 in 1000.”—Parl. Deb. xci. 1324. "I am decidedly of opinion that we should do nothing to deprive the country of the services of the old soldiers; but having maturely considered this bill, I think it will not tend to any diminution of the old soldiers. Old soldiers, my lords, are, in my opinion, absolutely necessary to the very existence of an army. Although this country has been under the protection of peace for thirty years and more, I have had under my consideration during that time military operations of great extent and importance, not only in the Mediterranean, but in North and South America, in South Africa, and all over Asia, nearly at the same time; and if you had not had the highest discipline and best troops in the world, it would not have been possible for you to have carried on these operations. Look at China. In that case it was necessary to transport troops from Australia, and land them in China, where they were called on to act on rivers, in creeks, and upon islands, in concert with the ships of her Majesty. XLIII. 1847. unduly favourable to the Established Church by the Dis- CHAP. senters, and their opposition led to animated debates in both houses of Parliament. In introducing the subject on the part of Government, Lord Lansdowne lamented that the sectarian jealousies between the two great bodies of Churchmen and Dissenters rendered it impossible to bring forward a plan for universal education; but he gave very gratifying information as to what, under the limited system, which alone was practicable, had actually been done since the Government system had been introduced in 1833. From that time to 1846, Parliament had granted £490,000 for the purposes of education; the schoolhouses for which grants had been made would, when completed, accommodate 550,000 scholars, besides 150,000 more in 3500 schools which had invited inspection, without having obtained grants of public money. The chief object of the proposed grants was to extend They succeeded in effecting all that was expected of them. How was that done? It was done by the discipline of your troops-the discipline maintained by the old soldiers. They were the men who led the young ones, and, acting together, they were able to achieve any conquest. Again, one night during the operations against the Sikhs, a regiment was lying on their arms, and Lord Hardinge was on the ground at their head. The enemy opened fire upon them, and annoyed them very much, in consequence of which my noble friend ordered the men to rise and advance upon the guns. They did so, and the guns were captured. This was at night, remember. I ask, could such a feat have been performed under such circumstances by any but old soldiers? It would have been impossible. Bear in mind the conduct of the Emperor Napoleon with respect to old soldiers; remember the manner in which he employed them. Recollect, too, how they are prized by every power all over the world; and then I will once more entreat your lordships never to consent to any measure which would deprive her Majesty's service of old and experienced men, and thus pave the way for disasters which would assuredly follow when the army should come to be employed in war. "I should be rejoiced if the measure at present under consideration should induce a superior class of men to enter the army; but I confess I very much doubt it. But putting that out of the question, I believe that, looking at all the circumstances of the case, looking at the advantages held out to the soldier in the reward for good conduct, after five, ten, fifteen, and twenty years' service, the army will suffer no injury from the measure, and that the soldiers will re-enlist after the ten years. Therefore it is that I recommend your lordships to try the measure of limited enlistment. It is my firm belief that this measure will make no difference in the number of old soldiers in the army."-Parl. Deb. xci. 1338. XLIII. 1847. CHAP. this system of inspection, which, so far as it went, had worked well, and to grant to all the teachers power to select a certain number out of the most promising of their pupils, who were to be trained up, under the name of apprentices, to the duties and practice of education, so as to fit them to become in their turn teachers of others. For each of these apprentices or normal pupils a certain annual allowance was to be provided, and for such as could not find situations in the Government schools, employment was to be given in the revenue departments. Pensions also, after fifteen years of public service, were provided to well-conducted schoolmasters and schoolmistresses. Lord Brougham warmly approved of the proposed measure, regretting at the same time 1 Parl. Deb. that "no general and comprehensive plan was practicable, because society was divided into two great classes, Churchmen and Dissenters, who loved education much, but controversy more."1 * xc. 1327 xci. 940 lxxxix. 858, 932. 97. cion Bill for Ireland. Although the ministry of Sir R. Peel had been overNew Coer- thrown by a combination of Whigs and Protectionists on the question of the Coercion and Arms Bill for Ireland, yet experience was not long of proving that the measure, then so unceremoniously rejected, was in itself necessary and expedient, and that without some similar enactment government had become impracticable in the sister island. So threatening did affairs become in some parts of Ireland in the end of 1846, and first months of In the debate on this subject in the House of Commons, Mr Macaulay observed on 19th April: "In Hertford House of Correction, out of 700 prisoners, about one-half are unable to read, and only 8 could read and write well. In Maidstone Prison, out of 8000 prisoners, 1300 were unable to read, and only 50 could read well. In Cold-Bath-Fields Prison, out of 8000, not one could read and write well. From the registers of marriages, we find that out of 130,000 couples married in the year 1844, 40,000 bridegrooms and 60,000 brides could only sign by a mark. What does this imply? The most grievous want of education for many of the remainder, who have been unable to sign their names. How many of the day-schools are nothing but a dirty room, with a heap of fuel on one side and a brood of chickens on the other, and the only instruments of education are a dog-eared spelling-book and a broken slate?"-Parl. Deb. xci. 1016. СНАР. XLIII. 1847. 1847, that Ministers were themselves under the necessity of introducing a measure for the repression of crime, which was in effect almost the same as that which had been so recently thrown out in the Lower House; and the facts which Sir George Grey adduced to justify the measure were such as amply proved its necessity. It is remarkable that the increase of crime, which was so alarming, had taken place only in a few counties; over the country generally there not only was no increase of offences, but a marked diminution, notwithstanding the universal distress which prevailed. Sir George Grey mentioned that the number of serious offences during the whole of 1846 had been 2885; whereas, up to the end of October 1847, they did not exceed 1035. But in some districts of the country, particularly Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary, there existed a secret conspiracy, which had spread such intense dismay over the country that it became the absolute duty of Government, at all hazards, to put it down. The present, therefore, is no general indictment against a whole people; it is a measure empowering the Lord-Lieutenant to proclaim certain baronies and counties, and the effect of that proclamation was, that the carrying of arms between sunrise and sunset became illegal, and arms could only be kept legally in possession upon a license from Government; and the Lord-Lieutenant was authorised to send down an additional police force from the reserve at Dublin, at the expense, in the first instance, of the public treasury, xcv. 270, but ultimately of the disturbed districts.1* Sir R. Peel's Ann. Reg. triumph was now complete, and he put the finishing- 237. stroke to his victory by himself voting, with all his fol * The increase of violent crime, chiefly in Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary, in the first six months of 1846 and 1847, were respectively 1 Parl. Deb. XCV. 273, 922; 1847, 236. 1847. CHAP. lowers, for the very bill which had been made the instruXLIII. ment of his own overthrow. So evident had the necessity of the case become, that it passed the Commons by an overwhelming majority, being 296 to 19, or 277, and in the Lords unanimously. 98. and dissolu liament. Parliament was prorogued by the Queen in person on Prorogation the 23d July, and next day dissolved by royal proclation of Par- mation. The elections were languidly conducted, and excited very little attention. There was neither any great social or national question at stake, nor any keen contest of parties to awaken the dormant energies of their adherents throughout the country. It was universally understood that the Conservatives were, for the time at least, utterly disjointed and broken up, and that any attempt to reconstruct the great body which Sir R. Peel had headed was out of the question. The Liberals were evidently destined for a long time, perhaps for ever, to retain the reins of power; and though the old Whig party was nearly as much displaced from the lead as the Tories were, that did not shake the majority of English borough Liberals, Scotch Radicals, and Irish Catholics, in whom, by the Reform Bill, the government of the empire was now vested. In addition to this, the course of current events had turned men's minds to very different objects. The famine in Ireland had frozen every heart with horror; the monetary crisis in Great Britain threatened every one engaged in trade with ruin; and men, in the utmost state of alarm for their private affairs, had neither money, nor leisure, nor care to bestow on political disputes. From these causes the elections excited very little attention; the old members were in general returned without a contest, and the only dif 1 Ann. Reg. ference in the result was an addition to the Liberal 1847, 187, ranks, slight indeed, but sufficient to secure them a working majority." 1 189. It was no wonder that the attention of the country was |