The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-02-20 00:00:00

MR. GOSCHEN ON EDUCATION.

On Thursday evening, in last week, in the presence of a
large audience, the Right ion. George Goschen, M.P., dis-
tributed the prizes and certificates gained by the students at
the evening classes in connection with the City of London
College, Leadenhall-street, London, and at the examinations
of the Society of Arts and the Government Department of
Science and Art.

I In the course of his address Mr. Goschen said—
The day was past when it was thought there could be
anything antagonistic between truth and mental cul-
ture of any kind. It used to be considered that the
pursuit of the higher forms of knowledge, far
from increasing the capacity of a man to follow
truth, was likely to tell against him; but now nearly
every one was . unanimous in the efforts that were
made in favour of education, though opinions some-
times differed as to the course that education should
take. But the higher the education the better for '
all classes for the individual and also for the State;
and he thought in the City of London and elsewhere
the prejudice was• dying away against knowledge
which was supposed not to be useful, and which might
therefore interfere with the pursuits of business. That
feeling had died out, and they had now to deal with I
the various branches of study which were taught in
institutions of that kind. In that College they had
two, if not three, classes of subjects. There were the I
subjects which paid immediately—those which they I
could at once turn to profit, and those which they could
not, and of which they tould not at Once measure the
commercial value, but as to which they would appre-
ciate the value throughout their lives and in all the
various scenes and circumstance into which they might
be thrown. Let him say one word as to the subjects
which had an immediate commercial value. They
had their classes for book-keeping, arithmetic, French,
German, and the various subjects which would be
useful to them Ns clerks or as tradesmen : and
he thought the students could not be too
thankful to the College for the opportunities it
afforded them after the hours of business in enabling
them to study subjects likely to influence them for
good during • the rest of their lives. On the other
hand, it was greatly to their credit that, after a hard
day's work, they were ready to apply themselves to
the pursuit of knowledge in the way they did. Many
people were prone to say how far behind this country
was, compared with others, in technical knowledge of
various kinds, and in the kind of education which
enabled Englishmen, when they possessed it, to com-
pete with foreign nations. It had been a charge
against English clerks that they were not equal to
those I) f foreign countries. If that were true, it would
seem to result from the educational advantage enjoyed
by the English middle classes not being equal to those
abroad, and it should stimulate the country to pursue
middle-class education in the same way as education
was conducted in our Universities on the one hand,
and in our national schools on the other. There was
greater competition for employment in the City of Lon-
don than in any other commercial city in the world,
and that ought to stimulate them to pursue their studies
in such a way that they might maintain the chara?.ter
of Englishmen in the great race, and secure for them-
selves that fair share of work which every Englishman
would wish his countrymen to enjoy. (Cheers.) Let
him turn now to another side of the question, and plead
also on behalf of general education and mental culture.
He would urge them, in their studies, not only to devote
themselves to those classes which were likely to have
an immediately tangible result—an immediate money
value—but also to pursue studies calculated to raise
the tone of theirminds, to carry them beyond the routine
of their daily lives, and to raise them above the level'
of their work into higher spheres. (Cheers.) It might
be said their time was limited; but, on the other
hand, if they intelligently and ardently endeavoured
to utilize their time, there were many studies beyond
their own work which would amply repay them and
which would brighten and adorn their lives, for they had
not only to live, but to enjoy their lives, and be res-
ponsible for their lives. (Hear, hear.) He would go so far
as to say to them—take up one subject; it need not be
this subject or that; but take up, if they could, one
subject and learn it thoroughly, some subject which
they might regard not only as part of their business, •
but as part el their enjoyment and their pleasure.
(Cheers.) For men thoroughly immersed in any pur-
suit it was highly desirable that they should turn now
and then to some subject out of their line, to which they
could devote themselves. with such enthusiasm that it
constituted one of their greatest resources, and became
a pleasure 'and a relaxation which they would not
forego for any consideration. As they knew, both Lord
Derby and Mr. Gladstone had their hobbies ; " both
devoted themselves to Homer in their leisure hours,
and made that study an enthusiastic pursuit. There-
fore Mr. Goschen would say to his audience, "Cultivate
a hobby, every one of you • choose a subject, pursue it
and learn it thoroughly, mil% don't bore anybody with
it, but keep it to yourself. (Laughter.) There was
scarcely a subject in the world that was dull, provided
it was gone thoroughly into, though at the first aspect
It seemed uninviting. It was said, " Familiarty breeds
contempt ;" that might be so as regarded men' but not
80 as to knowledge. The moral he drew from itIVAA this