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Leader (1850-1860), 21st August 1858, Edition 1 of 2, Page 838

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      838 The Leader. [Kg 4g9 ^ Auctst _ 2y»Ft...

      838 THE LEADER . [ Kg 4 g 9 ^ AuCTsT _ 2 y » ft 58 >

      The Fruits Oe Ignorance. The Peasantry A...

      THE FRUITS OE IGNORANCE . The peasantry about Kilkenny have begun to destroy machinery . This is an improvement from murdering meu to breaking their instruments . The Irish have now readied the stage which the English occupied half a -century ago ; and we rejoice at their progress . They have come to he sensible of the value of labour , and they resent the use of machinery because they suppose , erroneously , that it reduces the rate of wages . The English labourers made exactly the same mistake half a century ago , but now the veriest clodhoppers amongst them know that the use of machinery increases produce , increases employment , and increases the rate of wages .

      The-2 ?& ry and Norwich Pest supplies a useful illustration of the present state of opinion in the agricultural districts , which for these very reasons is in favour of machinery . It was only ignorance , therefore , of the eifects ' of . machinery which made the English destroy it half a century ago , and it is only ignorance of the effects of machinery which makes the backward Irish destroy it at present . Both , did wrong in the eyes of others ; iu their own eyes , both did what they thought was right . It is good philosophy to say that there are not two causes for the same effect ; and as ignorance is the source of the wrong done by Irisli labourers , and was the source of the wrong done by English labourers , it is not straining logic too far to infer that ignorance is the source of all the wroncr that ever is or

      ever has been doue in the ' world . Mr . Roebuck enunciated a similar conclusion at Tynem . ou . th , and we beg to quote a portion of his eloquent remarks : — - There are pleasures derived from knowledge which are not merely the intellectual pleasures I am speaking of . There « re moial pleasures . Por , depend upon it , no man can . tie really a good man . -who is an ignorant man . ^ ow , that Is a bold thing to say , but , depend upon it , it is true . I have no doubt that Hildebrand and S t . Dominic fancied they were doing- good -when they were destroyiaig human beings . I have no doubt the wretched King 1 of Naples fancies he is ddin £ rood

      when he is treating- his unfortunate subjects with all the horrors with which he does treat them ., Why is this ? Because virtue is made up of two things—you must wish to do good , and you must know how to do it . It is not enough to-wish and intend good things , you ought to know what things are good . The Spaniards have an old proverb , -which I "will just quote , though it begins -with a word which is not generally mentioned to ears polite , " Hell is paved with good intentions . " The greater part of mankind intend well , but they don ' t know how to do well . They persecute , they are intolerant , they turn round upon their fellow-raan because he differs from them on some simple matter about which they are both equally ignorant . They pinch his

      unfortunate flesh -w Uh red-hot irons because he differs from them . Knowledge , and knowledge alone , will do away with this , and as men become learned , and appreciate the v * alue « f knowledge , they will learn to b . e tolerant , and thus they will know that the human mind , fully and fairly employed—many minds being employed on the same object—arrives at different conclusions , and if honestly arrived at , they ought not to be persecxited . Therefore , 1 say , that a really good man cannot be mnde out of an ignorant man . He may intend well ; he may have all the wishes to be a good man , but he has not the intelligence j he does not know what is good ; lie will be a persecutor ; lie will be a bigot ; he will be a bad man , although intending to be n good one .

      We must always , therefore , give rulers credit for good intentions , and always believe that it is merely ignorance which has made them , as it makes the Irish peasant , very often excessively mischievous or destructive . The same may lie said of moat criminals . They intend less to do wrong than merely to serve some purpose of their own . When they steal , they falsely suppose that it is easier to steal from others tlian to gain wealth by honest labour . ThUnis n palpable mistake . Were they right , theft would be the rule of our lives . The exertions to steal , and the exertions to . resist theft , necessarily diminish the of

      sum -wealth which might exist , and the share of each one , including the thief , would be so much the larger were he not to steal . The first Napoleon , did not mcau to depopularise himself , to destroy his throne , and restore the Bourbons , by his successive wars and his final attack on . Russia . He did j ^ reat wrong to Fiance , to Europe , and himself , from sheer and deplorable ignorance , cxaol , ly like that of the Irish peasantry . His vast power , liko their extreme poverty , pro vented him getting n . u accurate knowledge of facts . Ujhe p * esent Napoleon docs not mcau to make the JPrenoU poor and discontented by his wasteful , deflpotic , and restrictive system ; he designs to secure Ida

      throne and his ' dynasty , but lookers-on , satisfied that he is ignorant of tho consequences of what he is doing , know that he is only pro-paring the way for another revolution .. Louis Philippe did not mean to dethrone himself by fortifying- Paris , but his system of government , of which this was a-consequence , lod to that incvil able conclusion . Lord Pahnerstou did not intend to turn himself out of office and break up the Liberal party when be assented to the French view of Englishmen's duties , but he effected it . What will he the consequences of our actions is known to us only within the immediate and

      limited sphere of our own vision . The remote consequences , which are as inevitable as those we immediately will , arc unknown to all . We know , for example , * that what we write will be-printed , but what effect it will produce in others we cannot possibly foresee . Some know more of these remote consequences than others , and they are sagacious and successful in proportion ; though probably wellbeing , contentment , and happiness are on the whole more the result of following submissively and blindly some well-accredited principles than of acting from attempts to ascertain what will ensue iu the distant future .

      We all desire to avoid evil , and try to avoid it . iNTone intentionally do wrong—we all desire to do Tight and achieve good for ourselves , or what we suppose will be good ; -. nevertheless , there is an immense quantity of wrong done and evil suffered , which arc entirely the consequences , like the destruction of machinery'by . the . Irish peasantry , of ignorance . To secure well-being , therefore , we must possess a knowledge of the effects of our own conduct as well as of the motion of the planets , of the . geological formation of the earth , and of the structure of insects . How we are to get this

      indispensable knowledge nobody can tell , for nobody is in possession of it . The Legislature does not possess it , or it would never make laws whicli produce evil . The clergy do not possess it—they are notoriously ignorant of the ways of the worla , of existing facts , and cannot teach what they . dp not know . It is only to be gathered'by experience , aud just as the English labourers have learned , within the last fifty years , to form right views of the . effects of machinery , so , in time , similar necessary knowledge will come to all . It is not to be attained by education . Teachers , each in his sphere , are as little acquainted with it as their pupils . All that the State

      can do to promote the acquisition is to allow men to learn . Our experience of the effects of machinery may be told to the Irish ; probably , as far as it can be , it has been told ; but it has not , given them knowledge . For one man's experience to become a part of another man's life a common medium of communication is necessary . To understand language , which is si \ ch a medium , many previous associations are necessary , and till these have been formed words arc mere sounds . The uneducated Irish , and the uneducated multitude generally , have not formed these associations , arid are , consequently , not capable of learning from the experience of others .

      Their own experience is a swre teacher , and from seeing railways and railway carriages , they learn all about them as easily as the educated classes . It is impossible to travel by rail and not perceive that tlie rude multitude who use only third-class carriages are as well acquainted with all the mysteries of railway travelling , novel i hough it be , as travellers by first class carriages . The men and women who , hall ashamed of their coarse or untidy dresses , or

      uncouth behaviour , can scarcely be persuaded to enter a drawing-room or a church , slinre with glee all the advantages of the rail with their betters , and at once adapt themselves to its exigencies . To personal experience they show themselves docile pupils , what happens as to rnils , happens in every part " of existence . Everywhere people are learning great truths by personal experience , and not by the medium of words from professed teachers . The men who \ o . m \ snniol . v «••« r ^ nii ' im ,. llv teachers . I he men who lend society arc continuall

      y making discoveries ; they are not taught them by other men . No teaching has prepared society for the rail and tho telegraph , and their consequences ; they arc not yet known , and can only be learned as they are developed . Of lute years both the State and the Church have become very diligent , iu teaching the people , to which they seem to huv ' c been driven rnt . licr by what the multitude had learned and was learning by personal experience than by what tho multitude was ignorant of . The knowledge of tlio multitude rather alarmed than pleased the leaders in State and Church . By personal experience the people will continue to learn much more than tho Si ate and tlio

      Church can teach them ; and it seems doubtful JT y-hat thoy have learned in past times has boSid ? feront from the knowledge these iiicowl ? jrculd * ish to ineulcateAvhothcr S ?] fS k-arn . hereafter will he agvcoablc to then T teaching ot the matorial world through our ' scr . T , is very different from the teaching of the f'U i and the State . The former , however cunn ft avoided , and is the paramount means of correcting the ignorance of Irish labourers and memw ! % Parliament , both of whom , undesigned ^ ^ ^ ranee , do a great deal of wrong . J ° " ° "

      Indian Tactics. All Sides Seem Agreed Tl...

      INDIAN TACTICS . All sides seem agreed tliat the Indian mutW ;„ quelled ; that we have fought our last pitched battle begged our last city , and that nothing reS to be done but to hunt down straggling parties « r mutineers , and to cut them up root and Wncli whS we come up with them . We are willing to accS tills ' statement as a true picture of the existing condition of affairs and future prospects ; ve sincerely hope the picture will be realised . But cerfciinll

      there ' are materials for doubting whether it will b £ realised as rapidly as the friends of order could wish . We have already felt it to be . our dut y to direct attention to the dilatory , and , to our unmilitary mmd , the erroneous tactics of the Com mander-in-Chief . From what we learn from private sources we have reason to believe that a more active and suitable plan will henceforward be -adopted than thatofmakingscicntificwaronfug itivebri ^ ands . This

      we apprehend , lias been the mistake throughout of the Commander-in-Chief . What is wanted for India is light cavalry . It is inconceivable how the cavalry arm could have , been permitted to dwindle down to such an inefficient point . The fruits of our bloodiest battles and sieges liave been almost neutralised by the want of a sufficient cavalry force ; we trust the mistake will be remedied fully and without more than necessary delay . But what is to be the future of our rule in India ? We shall never again stand in the same relative position in which we stood to the natives , Mahometan and Hindoo , before the mutiny . The wide gulf will never again be bridged over . On the one side will be perpetual distrust , on-tlic other a knowledge that distrust exists , and is well founded . We shall

      be stronger than ever in India , but our hold on that country will be material and military , not as before with a large element of the moral . The powers to govern India in future must be composed of men " a little lower , than the angels , " if they discharge their high functions wisely ' and impartially , and resist that temptation to jobbery and patronage which the recent change has placed so completely at their command .

      Over-House Tei-Kgravits.—The Society Of ...

      Over-house Tei-kgravits . —The Society of Arts have been furnished by Messrs . Waterlow and Sons with the details of making the telegraph connexion between their premises in Bircbin-Iane , London-wall , and

      Parliamentstreet . The lino of wires commences at Loudon-wall , proceeds direct to Birchin-lnne , and tlience , supported at different intervals , terminates at Parliament-street , the total distance traversed by the wires being 1-1 , 584 feet , or nearly three miles . The wires are supported on poles fixed to the tops of tho houses ; avid Messrs . Wntorlow have for this purpose used a kind of saddle of cast iron , carrying a socket , into wliich the supporting pole is fixed . The saddle fits on the ridge of the house , and is held in its place by two screws into tho ridge tree and four into tho rafters . Tho polo is kept steady and firm by menus of guy wires from its extremity to the roof . No injury whatever is done to tho houae hy the iixing of the supports , and when removed

      all that has to be done is to till up and make good the holes whence they are withdrawn . Tlio telegraph wires are of ateel , a little larger than common bell viro , combining strength with liglitncss . The telegrap h used by Messra . Wuterlow is the singlo-noedlo instrument , requiring only a single line of wive . The cost of erecting tho wires is at the rate of about 501 . per milo , including poles , wires ( double line ) , insulators , labour , mid everything , except the instruments , tho cost of which , with * singlo needle , is f >/ . each . Messrs . Waterlow oiilciilnle that tho whole of tho police-stations and / Ire-eng ine establishments in tho metropolis might bo brought into communication with ea < h other for an outlay not exceeding fiOUO / . —Aayrea * .

      This IlANititurruY A 2 ) i > Liquidation Act , 18 o 8 . — This Act , which was presented , by tho Lord Chancellor at the cloao of tlio session , is now published . It ' , nn act to amend tlio law of debtor and creditor , and of insol-voncy and bankruptcy , and to cnablo and fjiuiUtnto the liquidation hy creditors of a debtor ' s estate , and tlio administration of enfnte « of insolvent traders decenncfl It consists of 880 clauses , and occupies 145 folio l ^ 'os

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 21, 1858, page 838, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/ldr_21081858/page/14/