The Press. — London, England, 1856-09-27 00:00:00

SEPT. 27, 1856. various other objects moneys which amount to nearly bOO,OOOl. It was, however, worth while inquiring whether these arrangements had been so conducted as to be capable of being developed into a national s}stem : The two great principles by which we may avoid any great error in the organisation of elementary education aro the observance, first, of the principle of self-goverment on which the whole of the institutions of this country have been founded. Now, the schools have been left in the hands of the religious communions ; they have the power of governing them without interference from the State; and they can instruct the children, each of their own com munion, in the separate schools. The members of the several religious communions of the towns have likewise the power of sending their children to the separate schools without molestation. It is true that in this country it is necessary that some new provision should be made for the protection of minorities ; and if, in the country districts and generally, a regulation were adopted that the hours at which each portion of instruction should be given should be defined in the rules of the school, and the parent were allowed to withdraw his child from any matter of instruc tion, with it probably that proviso would be nearly perfect. Then the means of support are of a like general character, consistent with the institutions of the country. A very large part of the support has been of a purely voluntary character. About 1 ls. 3d. has been derived from local subscriptions, and about Os. 9d. has been derived from the contributions of the school•pence of the children—making altogether Itis. per head per scholar in each school. Now the Government, besides this, has contributed at the rate of about Pls. per head for the augmentation of the salary of the teacher, and for the payment of the stipends of the pupil-teachers, and recently it has likewise contributed a capitation grant, amounting to 4s. or ss. per scholar, so that we thus arrive at the total resources of the school; and in this way sufficient funds may be obtained to secure the efficiency of tile school, and that without resorting to any means inconsistent with self-government. It appears that, from the recent proceedings in Parliament, the House of Commons is indisposed to grant a public rate. That being so, it remains for us to consider whether, by perse verance in the plan of action which has hitherto been adopted, by putting forth fresh exertions, and especially by that extension of the capitation grant which the Govern ment has recently granted to towns, an immense progress may nut still be made in the education of this country. The important question of the age to which children could be retained at school, and which connected the condition of elementary instruction with that of the mechanics' institutions, was next reached, and the,census here displayed some details of in terest : It appears from the late census that 20,000 poor children have left school before they were ten years of age ; 35,000 more poor children before they were eleven years of age ; 28,000 more poor children before they were twelve years of age; and after the age of twelve scarcely any were left at school. Even in the towns, and in the more commercial districts, the inspectors report that few children are at school at a greater age than from ten to eleven. Now the causes effecting these results are also disclosed by the census. It appears that of the children who were not at school between the ages of three and fifteen, 978,179 boys, or forty per cent., were not at work ; and 1,218,055 girls, or fifty-three per cent., also were not at work. On the other hand, the number not at sehool, but at work, was comparatively small ; 318,770 boys were at work between the ages of three and fifteen, and 218,055 girls. It appears that fifty-seven per cent. of the children of the population of Great Britain, between the ages of three and fifteen, remain with• out education, chiefly because of the indifference of their parents. Now, this is a sad state of things; but there are also some other features which have been remarked by the inspectors greatly affecting the success of the school. Mr. Watkins, inspector of the West Riding of Yorkshire, com plains greatly of the fluctuation of the attendance of child ren, owing to various causes affecting the manufacturing interests of that county : and he says that, in the majority of the schools of that district, eighty•eight per cent. of the children leave the school annually; only twelve per cent. of them remain. Now, the cure for this lamentable state of things in his opinion was only to be found in the extension to the whole of England of the Half time Act. It would send 2,000,000 children to school, whose life was now spent in idleness, and would double the number of those now employed in remunerative labour. But even this would only retain the child at school till he was thirteen, and what provision was there in this country for the instruction of youth between the ages of thirteen and seventeen, the most perilous period of life? There was none : The mechanics' institutions, the lyceums, have sprung tip in all the great towns of the country : but even theydo not exist in the rural districts; and there is no institution b•S yet which peculiarly meets the want of the youth between the age of thirteen and seventeen. On the other hand he is exposed to a great variety of temptations. There are in the great towns the casino and the dancing saloons: there is every form of low dissipation; there are companions of the worst description waiting on him to attract from him the counsels which he has received from his master and from the pursuits in which his mind has been trained, and to plunge him into every form of dissi pation. And I therefore say that, perhaps, no question can be greater than that of—first, the means of retaining the child at school, by the half-time system. till the suitable age of thirteen ; and then, by the founding of proper schools, to receive him from the age of thirteen, the preparing of him for the mechanics' institution or lyceum. THE PRESS. To obtain this result he thought a system of evening schools in connection with the lyceums should be es tablished, at which class instruction, tested by fre quent examination, should be carrried out in prefe rence to the more general system of education by lectures : Government have already taken some steps in this di rection ; they have permitted certain of the apprentices who have not gone to training colleges to become assistant masters, with paid stipends of 251., on condition that they devote three or four evenings a week to instructing evening schools, and they have also made grants of books and materials for the purpose ; but I confess I should regard all these means as something subsidiary and provisional, and believe that something more decisive is required for the general establishment of evening schools. It would seem to me possible, for example, that, taking such a town as Oldham, surrounded by manufacturing villages at a moderate distance, that connected possibly with this lyceum, or, if not connected with this lyceum, then with some central school, there might be formed a group of subsidiary institutions—evening schools—in the neigh bouring villages ; and that for such a group of schools there might be an itinerating master, who might, for instance, teach classes in some central school on two evenings of the week, and might go out and teach at the other schools on the remaining four evenings of the week, either one each evening or giving two evenings at each school ; and by combinations of this kind we might greatly diminish the expense of the individual schools, while very greatly in creased efficiency might be given to them. Sir John then alluded at length to the mode of in struction followed in lyceums, and urged the neces sity of teaching art and design : Now, we are not dependent upon any country for the inventions dependent upon machinery. The Americans are active rivals with us ; we find that in almost every department of trade they make some improvements in the machines which have been introduced in this country. Even in agriculture we receive machines from America; but there is no great desire in this country to ascertain what is being done in other countries in machinery. It is far otherwise with everything that relates to art. We have agencies established in every part of the world, to give us at the first moment the French designs as soon as they appear in the market ; and we are to a very great extent dependent in our print, shawl, and muslin trade upon the French. 1 think this ought not to be. I think it does not arise from any want of native talent ; I think it arises simply from the fact that we have not had institutions in this country for the cultivation of the native talent that exists, and that the drawing class which it is one of the objects of the Department of Science and Art to found ought to be connected with every one of those mechanics' institutions. Mr. HEYWOOD, M.P., then briefly addressed the meeting, urging the desirability of establishing a free library at Oldham. Mr. W. J. Fox, M.P., in an eloquent speech, called in question Sir J. K. Shuttleworth's approval of the Government educational measures, and protested against them as narrow in principle, imperfect in detail, and unequal to the wants of the population. Sir J. K. SHUTTLEWORTH replied briefly to Mr. Fox's observations : He heartily concurred in almost everything Mr. Fox had said, but in speaking of the measures of the Government the hon. member appeared to have overlooked the great controversies and struggles by which the present ethics tional position had been attained. The Government had not been at liberty to disregard the operations of the great religions bodies of this country through centuries of exec• tion. But no one was more conscious than he (Sir J. K. Shuttleworth) was of the defects of the present system, or more desirous of the extension of education ; at the same time that no one could more fully appreciate the exceeding force of those barriers which impeded educational pro gress, and the extreme difficulties with which the Govern ment had to contend, not only in the House of Commons, but everywhere else. The sincere convictions of the peo ple of this country were not to be trifled with, but must be treated with respect in every step that was taken. The meeting concluded after various other ad dresses had been delivered. THE USE OF InoN in the construction of ships of war was alluded to in a paper read last week before the Institution of Mechanical Engineers by M. Pietro Conti, Sardinian commissioner. In this communica tion, M. Conti discussed the inconvenience experienced in iron ships of war from cannon-shot in penetrating a ship so constructed, causing a wide rent in each side of the vessel. M. Conti propos Ni that the lower part of the ship should be made of iron, as at pre sent, out that, above the line of penetration, only the frame should be of iron, with timber planking. To obviate, however, the easy destruction of the iron frame by shot, ho proposes to take advantage of the known propensity of shot to deviate from its line when it meets obliquely a resisting surface. He would have the frames built in a peculiar manner, with a horizontal section, consisting of two triangles, and the bisecting line perpendicular to the side of the vessel. Thus the shot, if it should chance to strike the frame, either from the outside or the in. side, would be likely to deviate to the right or left, and would only open a hole easily to be repaired in the wooden planks. 919 SIR EDWARD LYTTON AND THE AMERICAN MINISTER AT HITCHIN. SIR EDWARD Lyrrow, at the annual dinner of Um Hertfordshire Agricultural Society held at Hitchin, on Tuesday, in proposing the health of the Ameri can Minister, briefly alluded to the late misunder standings between the two countries, which he hoped were " in a fair way of being tranquilly settled upon terms which may equally consult the honour and the dignity of the two nations." Sir Edward Lytton paid Mr. Dallas a high compliment : It was at a very anxious and critical moment for the two countries that I first saw him, but I imme diately felt sure that he Wal the right man in the right place; and since he has honoured me with a visit under my own roof -tree, with his amiable and accomplished family, I have had on all occasions to admire the clearness of his intellect, the depth of his observation, the dignified simplicity of his manners, the transparent kindliness of his heart, and (if he will allow me to say) the felicity with which he unites the natural patriotism of an American citizen with a just appreciation of all that is really excellent and sterling in the dear old land of his own fathers. Well, I told him that if he would honour me with a visit, he would be sure, at least, of a hearty English welcome in an old English country house. But his heart is so large that the welcome of an individual does not content him, and I ant so proud of my guest that the welcome of an individual does not satisfy me for him ; and, therefore, he is here to-day to receive the welcome of all classes and of all parties of Englishmen in this great national meeting. Gentlemen, may those cheers with which I know you will receive the toast that I am about to propose be borne across the Atlantic, and assure the United States of our affection for their people and of our respect for their representative. I give you the " Health of his Excellency William Dallas, ➢linister Plenipotentiary from the United States of America ;" and allow me to add one sentiment— Lasting concord between America and England. (Loud cheers.) Mr. DALLAS, • who was very warmly received, replied : In no field of social action are the United States better entitled to your estimation than in the very one with which this banquet is connected. They recognise the agricultural interest; the interest of their planters and their farmers is the predominant interest, the interest that wields the power, originates the wealth, nourishes the freedom, and promotes the happiness of their entire people. I wish I felt competent and at liberty to engage a few moments of your attention in adverting to American movements similar to your own. They are numerous in every separate State of our confederacy, impelled as here by the highest intellect and the truest patriotism ; their com• bined result might be regarded as an offering not wholly unworthy of your acceptance. Sir EDWARD LrrTos then rose to propose the toast of the evening, " Prosperity to the Herts Agricul tural Society." Remarking upon the astonishing progress made by the present generation in agricul ture, the improvement in the breed of stock, and the increase in the average quantity of crops, Sir Ed ward Lytton observed that, with respect to modern improvements—and he agreed with Lord Lonsdale that the two great agricultural problems of the day were the application of mechanical power to cheapen labour, and of town4ewage to increaser rut , theapen manures—it was the better interest of th farmer to watch and apply profitable results than to AI empt unprofitable experiment. He was not one of those " pompous amateurs " who thought it necessary at agricultural meetings to lecture farmers upon all they ought to do and all they ought to learn : I dare say you may have observed—l have very often — with a good-humoured amazement, that some smooth spoken gentleman who would rather bite his tongue off than tell a merchant at Liverpool how to manage his counting-house, or a cutler at Sheffield how to make knives, no sooner finds himself at an agricultural meeting than he thinks it incumbent on him to enlighten the farmers upon every detail of their business, from the materials of their manures to the very shape of their ploughs. Now, T fancy, gentlemen, that as practical men you are not inclined very much to respect that kind of advice, and it is enough for me to assure our distinguished kinsman from the Units d States of my perfect persuasion that your own general in telligence and acute sense of your own interests will induce you to give fair play to every experiment which may be shown to be really profitable, and therefore conducive to the general purposes of husbandry. The subject of "Agricultural Statistics" had been discussed at every meeting; it was fair, therefore, to allude to it at this. To the particular bill of last session, the farmers, as a body, were unanimously opposed ; and justly so, from the odious machinery it employed and the vexatious principle of inquisitorial investigation it embodied. The farmers resisted t because they were Englishmen, but they were not opposed to a good, judicious, and conciliatory system of agricultural statistics. Yet although that bill in itself was objectionable in principle, ag ricultural statistics Sir Edward Lytton considered were of essential good, and he would earnestly advise the far mers as a body, if a conciliatory and good bill were introduced, to give it their favorable attention. Having said what was a bad bill, he explained what he thought would be a good one In the first place I would dispense altogether with the machinery of the roor•Law Board, or any other board that