The Press. — London, England, 1858-10-09 00:00:00

THE PRESS, OCTOBER 9, lB5B. 976 i njudicionsly push progress forward too far in that (Erec tion—to that liberty which, as Englishmen, we prize so dearly. Sir G. C. LEWIS, after returning thanks for the honour done him, alluded to the remarks made by Sir J. Walsh as follows : There is one sentiment to which my hon. friend has given utterance and which I think will meet with general concurrence—namely, that we are not necessarily to identify democracy with liberty, we are not necessarily to suppose that progress in the direction of democracy will itself, with proper guards and securities ' increase our public liberties. He has taken you across the Channel and asked you to con template the political condition of the kingdom of France. I will ask you to look across the Rhine, to look to Germany as well as to France, and say whether the hasty and ill-con sidered rush they made a few years ago in the direction of democracy has not ended in rivettiug despotism on their necks. Nothing is wore obvious than that a hasty and ill considered attempt to run by a short cut to the goal of democracy, will land you in the very opposite goal. I will, however, add one remark to those which Sir John Walsh has made, and that is, that hitherto, in my opinion, all advances which we in this country have made in the direction of democracy, have likewise been advances in the direction of liberty. That has been owing to the cautious manner in which the progress has been made, and to the manner in which public measures are proposed and considered in this country. That which has been hitherto will, I sincerely trust, continue to be the case. It is with a view of contributing my small mite to that conclusion that I have ventured to throw out my sentiments with respect to. the coining Reform Bill. I trust those who propose it will form a distinct idea of what it is they seek to accomplish. 1 trust, also, they will make an honest and sincere proposal, and that they will not attempt to ac c nnplish one thing under the mask of another. If they do, they will have the certainty of detection before their eyes. No political trick in this country ever passes undetected, and the certain result is a reaction of public opinion, and a tendency to advance too rapidly in the direction contrary to that in which an attempt may have been made to mislead the public. From whatever quarter a Reform Bill may come, and in whatever shape it may present itself, I trust it will receive that consideration which will, when it obtains the sanction of the Legislature, make it tend to the public good ; and as I feel sure it will be, and must he, in the directicn of democracy, so I believe it may be brought to increase our public liberties. MR. BLAKEMORE, M.P., AND MR. MARTIN, M.P., IN HEREFORDSHIRE. AT the annual dinner of the Ledbury Agricultural Society, on "The Health of the County Members" being given, Mr. BLAKE:IMRE, after stating that politics were excluded in that society, referred to the attempt made in the late session of Parliament to introduce another measure on agricultural statistics, but which had failed ; nevertheless, he expected the subject would hereafter be brought forward again. He ex pressed his approval of the new system of parochial harvest homes, one of which he had himself attended on the previous day, and alluding to the harvest of the present year, said the five harvests of Hereford- shire—bark, hay, corn, hops, and fruit—had all been most abundant, and they had reason to thank Providence for having so blessed that garden of agricultural industry. It would, indeed, have been most diastrous if, atter the panic which they had experienced so lately, Providence had not counter acted its effects by the blessing of a most bountiful harvest. He was pleased with the tone of public feeling which prevailed at the present time. There was an evident sound attachment to the religious, political, and national institutions of the country, and as long as they had a monarch on the throne of England he was sure no attempt, whether made at home or abroad, to infringe upon the institutions and the prosperity of the country would be tolerated. With regard to Cherbourg, he considered the visit of our Queen and Commons to the place would result more in our safety than our danger. He was not present, but he was not one of those who entertained an idea of design from that quarter. Mr. Ma'am, M.P., also briefly addressed the meeting, confiuing his remarks to agricultural subjects. MR. SOTHERON.ESTCOURT AND THE BISHOP OF SALISBURY ON ADULT EDUCATION. AT the annual meeting of the Hants and Wilts Adult Education Society, add the Conference of In• etitutions in union with it, held at Salisbury on Wednesday, the Right Hon. T. 11. S. Estcourt, M.P., President of the Poor-law Board, who presided, in moving the adoption of the report, said —He was persuaded that anything like an attempt to catch hold of the youth of both sexes after they had left school in an artificial manner--that was, by holding inducements of pecuniary profit or interest to them other than those their own minds would induce them to take on the subject of education—would end in failure. Such a course was tempting to the clergy man who has with infinite labour established a school, and also to the lay squire who was anxious to promote the welfare of the people on his estate, as an inducement for them to leave their natural employment and attend to their mental culture ; but he was persuaded that anything of the kind would only be of a temporary and exceptional character. What, however, they ought to do was to establish the means of giving both sehes instruction after the usual period of their attending school, without inter fering with their ordinary occupations, through the instrumentality of their relatives, friends, and employers. As an instance of the d:fficulties that at present existed in keeping the children of the agri cultural labourers at school, the right hon. gentleman said that about a year ago he was desirous of doing something to promote education in his own parish, and, as an example, wanting one boy on his farm, he thought he would take two, and that the two should make one boy, as regarded their work—one being at school and the other at work alternately—a kind of Castor and Pollux, one in heaven and the other on earth ; but what was the result' Why, he was sorry to say that after about three or four months' trial he found they preferred earth to entering the gates of paradise, or, in other words, that they preferred digging in the soil of the earth to that of the fields of knowledge, and they left his employment as soon as they found another master who would employ them in the sole cultivation of the soil. The alternate system would not answer, and they had no right to expect success from it, because it was an attempt to interfere in an artificial manner. The only enduring mode by which they might hope to effect the continuance of the education of boys and girls after the period when they usually lett school, would be by producing in their minds a desire for it, either because it would promote their interests or give them pleasure ; and to speak plainly, he saw no other mode of doing it than by the establishment of evening schools, where, for a slight emolument, working men of a little edu cation would be willing to attend and instruct those requiring it. The main thing, however, after all, was to interest the people who were to be bene fited by this movement. During the Crimean war his parishioners took a great interest in the events of that period ; and in order to cultivate among the labourers a desire of improvement that then mani fested itself, he established a reading•room for them, providing them with paper, candles, and fire ; and in order to make them feel a greater interest in the matter, and a degree of independence, he made each person who attended contribute a penny a week towards the expenses; and the result was that every adult in the parish enrolled his name as a member, and attended the reading•room ; but at the end of the month nne of them informed him that they could not go on, because many of them could not read on account that the print was so bad. He advised them to get a reader, and they did so, and upon the whole it answered very well. The Bishop of SALISBURY said he entirely con curred in all that had been said by the chairman. He fully approved of night schools for the labouring population, and be had taken every opportunity of informing his clergy that he thought, so far as their health and means would permit, they could not be more usefully employed in the winter months than in superintending such schools, and, he rejoiced to say, he believed there was no diocese in England where there was more being done in that respect than in the diocese of Salisbury. He was not speaking by comparisons he had instituted, but from information given to him by one of her Majesty's inspectors of schools, and who had given Mill most pleasing information relative to the number and efficiency of those schools. To make them attractive to the adult population they must not view them simply as schools, but as a place where they might obtain interesting information. MR. C. B. ADDEIILEY, M.P., ON NATIONAL EDUCATION. ON Monday, at Stoke upon-Trmt, the annual meeting of the North Staffordshire Prize Scheme Association for the Promotion of Education was held, and the prizes awarded to the successful candidates by the Rev. J. P. Norris, one of her Majesty's inspectors of schools, were distributed. The prizes consisted of 72/. in money, forty four Bibles, and four medals. The chair was occupied and the prizes were distributed by Mr. C. B. Adderley, one of the members for North Staffordshire, and Vice President of the Committee of Council on Education. A large number of the clergymen and gentry of the district were present, and the pro ceedings were of a deeply interesting character. Mr. ADDERLEY before distributing the prizes delivered an address, in which lie said the first inference to he drawn from the largeness of the number of candidates who elected to be examined in the Scriptures was that the general feeling of the people of this country was by no means in favour of a national system of secular education only. This was now taken as a settled fact by Parliament, an ch h e e s t r mentionedSel cn was always considered one of the s o problem s sansinileleu,swtrhaetinonthoef Manchester of etthatucaa shorteducation. A time School applied to him for a por ti on o f the arha. a Secular mentary grant for education a l purposes, th i e n answer he could possibly give was t h at i t was not within the province of the Com m i ttee o f Council to make a grant to a merely secula r sc h oo l . If there was one thing which more than anot h er had upon all occasions been definitely laid d own by Parliament it was this—that the principle to b e a d opte d i n the distribution of the educational gr ant was that of rendering assistance to the voluntary efforts of all recognized religious denominations. The second inference which Mr. Norris made in his annual report was drawn from the fact that 200 children of all denominations, with the consent of their parents, submitted to be examined by him i n th e S criptures, and from this he inferred that the reli g i ous diffi culty was not a real obstacle to the establishmeet of a comprehensive scheme cf national education. He was afraid Mr. Norris's inference would not stand the test of experience, although experi ence m i g h t bear it out in part. He believed that the religious difficulty need be no obstacle if the parents were sensible and if the managers of schools and the examiners were trustworthy. But religious jealousies did exist, and there was nothing else which prevented the formation of a great national scheme of educa tion. It was these religious jealousies which had rendered the Irish National Education scheme as purely denominational as the National Schools of Eng lacd, and which had prevented the ad )ption in this country of a plan far more economical and efficient than that which at present existed. There were, however, signs of these jealousies vanishing ; for Mr. Norris reported that several of the promoters of British schools had expressed their complete willing ness that he should examine the children taught in them. Referring to an earlier report of Mr. Norris, with regard to children being taken from school at too early an age, Mr. Adderley said he did not at all wish to compel parents to keep their children at school. It was sometimes contended that the Legis lature ought to use such compulsion, hut he thought such a course ought to be guarded against; and he did not believe it would ever succeed in England. It would be inefficient, and would be sure to be evaded. He believed that the best scheme for keeping children at school for a proper length of time was the prize scheme. He was not for keeping the children of labourers from the labour which was their real school for life, and a very efficient school too ; but, at the same time, he thought a prize scheme was doing, and was likely . to continue to do, a good work, by preventing reckless parents and employers from prematurely benefiting by the strength of those who ought to be at school. The existence of an educational commission at this moment must be of very great interest to every friend of progress. The commissioners had commenced their investigations with great spirit; and they intended for their guidance to take sample districts from various parts of the country. What their object was, or rather what the object of Parliament was through them, was to arrive at some safe con clusion regarding the present state of education generally. They knew the state of inspected schools, but they also wished to know the state of those which were not inspected. They wished also to know the state of remote places which had no schools et all ; and he could assure the meeting that the gentlemen who composed the commission were very able men, and had set about their work with great earnestness and vigour. They would, among other things, con sider the prize scheme with the view of ascertaining how far it could be made available for a national system of education. That was all he should say with regard to their work, but he would add that when they made their report he did not believe they would propose any radical change in the existing system. This association and other associations might, therefore, proceed without waiting for the report of the commissioners, for he believed that the prize scheme exactly embodied the best prin ciples of the existing system. The very interesting extracts which Mr. Norris had read from the com petition papers must convince them that the aSSOilla non was doing a great and good work, and that it deserved tl:e warm support of all the friends of edu cation. Mt JOHN PAKINGTON ON MECHANICS' INSTITUTES. THE First Lord of the Admiralty attended a dinner held at Worcester on Tuesday evening to celebrate the establishment of the Worcestershire Union of Mechanics' Institutes, which had been set on foot a few months ago by his son, Mr. J. S. Pakington. (n the course of the after-dinner proceedings, Air. PAKINGTON, the chairman, proposed the health of "The Members for the County and Borough of Worcestershire," which was acknowledged by I I