The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1867-02-19 00:00:00

BLANDFORD.

EDOCATION.—It must be a worm of deep regret
to every one who has the welters of his mental at
heart to know that notwithstanding the large in-
Men which has been made in the number of our
public schools and training establishments, during
the past 50 years, and the many facilities which are
afforded for mental improvement, so limited are the
mains of many poor families in our mgrioultural
districts that to eke out the weekly wages of the
father children are taken from school before they
bare even mastered the rodienents of a plain English
education and are sent to work to the injury of
both their mental and physical powers It has been
• question forphe philanthropist and the benevolent,
how can this evil to met? No doubt the
Government Might do much to remedy this
state of things, and probably as the evil beoomes
mon and more apparent, will eventually step in sad
devise some plan by which every child shall have
the advantage of mob an education as will enable
him to discharge the duties of life both to its own
advantage and the welfare of the nation at large.
Meanwhile a very valuable educational help is pro.,
vided by the formation of night schools in most of
our oilman towns and in many villages some of
which have been signally socoessfuL This has, we ,
rejoice to my, been the OM with the 0041 established
in Biaodford, which during the past winter has bad
an average attendance, per night, of between 40 and
50 young men and lads. The school has been opened
for two boors three ermine& week, the teschers-being
Mr. Griffiths, Mr. James raynerand Mr. MUM. The'
conduct of the young people was excellent, no
instance of insubordination having occurred during
the whole session, and, therefore, as might have
been reasonably expected, the Government 41X11111111*
ation, which took place on Tuesday last wider the
superintendence of the Rev. Mr. Camber, of tour.
western, and Mr. Spence Abbott, Weal a very
satigactory one. On the following Thursday even-
ing the annual treat took plain, ender the presidency.
of the Rev. J. R. Quirk, About fl,) were present.
and enjoyed an excellent tea. The hairmaa
expressed to those assembled how gratilied he was
that so many had availed thentadves of the &dna-
tars of the night school, and that their oondssa
had been oath as to pin the commendation
of their iostractors. Be then pointed out
some of the many advantages which educated men
enjoyed over those sot so favoured, and earnestly
entreated them to &lipase in using all the help
which the night schools and other IMMO of improve.
meet afforded them. He trusted they wotiM not
forget what they had learned, bat during the
summer months set apart • portion of their spare
time for mental culture. The evening wee spent is
a very plessant manner. Mr. W. E. Groves amused
the young people with some chemical experiments and
with a galvanic battery 'bowleg by glass tubes how the
electric spark was communicated. Stereosoopie and
microscopes were also kindly furnished by MINIM
Groves and Abbott, and interesting objects exhibited. '
After about two boars thus spent, Mr. Groves read
some of Mr. Barnes' poems in the Dorset dialect.
Mr. Grffitim, Mr. Groves, Mr. Mann, and Mr.
Abbott, gave • few words of micatuagemeat to the
youths, and the meeting closed by gaging the
doxology.

opened
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