The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1860-11-13 00:00:00

WOOL

WIN /MTH FARMERS' CLUB. --At the usual
monthly meeting of the Winfrith Club, held at the
Bear Inn, Wool, on Wednesday last, a large number
of members assembled in anticipation of listening to
a lecture by Mr. Blake, of Winiborne, on " Pneu-
n ~,,, ia in Cattle," but on the president, J. A. Damen
Esq., taking the chair, the secretary announced that
he had received late on the previous evening a letter
from Mr. Blake, stating that iiwing to several untie.-
seen pressing calls on his practice lie would be unable
to fulfil his engagement. Considerable disappoint-
ment was manifested at the announcement, princi-
pally owing to the fact that at the previous meeting
there had been no discussion. Mr. Darby, however,
volunteered to bring before the club the subject of
"The Farmers' interest in the better Education of
the Labouring Classes." After some introductory
observations, !Sir. Darby observed that he thought
that when the labourer began to receive a better edu-
cation he would not think labour undignified. The
principal argument was that by its influence the men
were continually leaving their situations, causing the
farmer serious inconvenience and loss; but he would
ask them, would they have the labourers ever to
remain in a state of brute ignorance as they were
lOU years ago! They must consider the advantages
resulting from their enlightenment as well as the
disadvantages. If they quitted the country for cur
colonies they had not to support their families, and
he believed they would bear him out that in the
last few years the poor rates had sensibly decreasisl,
and this was supported by statistics. The
county rates were increasing, it was true, an.l
the amount they now paid perhays might be almost
as much as formerly, but it did not go the poor. The
spread of enlightenment was such that they wanted
skilled labour in preference to menial labour ; they
wanted men to be the directors of those machines
which hail been invented, and education would
! make them such. At the present time even they
were suffering from a want of skilled labour, and
the general state of education in this county was not
what it should be for their requirements. The time
would come when they would require a much larger
amount of skilled labour, and the only remedy was
to get the labourer better educated. Old-class
farmers might run down education, but he believed
it to be a fact that it was to their interest to get the
husbandinan better instructed, so as to enable him
to become the director of those skilled machines.
The time was not far distant when the manual
labour now performed would be'done by machinery,
and no time was to be lost in better educating the
labouring classes.—A discussion followed, in which
Mr. Lillington, Mr. Caine% Mr. Saunders, Mr.
Reader, Mr. Randall. Mr. Damen, and others took
part, after which Mr. Darby replied, observing that he
was in favour of it being made compulsory that
children should be kept at school till a certain ale.
If properly educated, the labouring classes wouldlie
imbued with proper ideas of their station in life, and
their duty to God and their neighbour. It behoved
the farmers to look to their future wants, and seek
to avert a loss in their non-ability to obtain skilled
labour. Education, as at present pursued in our
national schools, was apt to make children conceited.
They should be taught that labour or menial duties
was not a degradation, arid if properly instilled it
would tend to the obtaining of a better servant.—
This concluded the discussion, and the meeting
shortly after broke up.