The Press.
London, England, 1853-09-17 00:00:00

Xlittaturt.

National Education. Speech of Lord John
Russell in the House of Commons April 4,
1H53. London : Longmans.
Public Education to Affected by the Minutes of
the Committee of Privy Council front 1846 to
it 452. By Sir .1. Kay Shuttleworth, London
Longinatn.
_ _ _

Tits; education question has lost much of its
practice' urgency since the shelving of Lord
John Hussein; bill ; but Sir .lames -Kay Shut-
tleworth's volume possesses a permanent in-
terest, and may be read with pleasure long after
the policy which he recommends has been de-
finitively adopted or rejected. It is also in a
manner the text-book of the Ministerial mea-
sure. and the best part of Lord John's speech
was little else than an abridgment from it. We
cannot attempt to analyse the contents of a
work which mainly deals with details, but a
brief review f the history of the educational
movement in this country may not be mis.
played.
Bell and Lancaster were the first founders of
public day schools in England. Substantially
theirsysteins did not differ. They were first
abused,thenapplauded, and finally patronised by
inost ofthe politicians of the day. That of Lan-
caster was adopted about leo4, by a society
called the " British awl Foreign School Society,
which acted on the principle of giving scrip-
lurid teaching. like the Kildare-street schools
01 Ireland, " without note or comment " The
inure zealous sort of churchmen protested
against this plan as latitudinarian, on the same
ground which led the Homan Catholics of Ire-
land to pretest against it as exclusive—
namely, that it. refused to acknowledge the
authority of any particular sea in religious
matters. To remedy the alleged detect a new
association, called the National." which is
still alive and in full force, was organised ; ac-
cording to whose rules not only the bible, but
the church catechism also, is included in the
compulsory teaching, and attendance atchurch
On Sundays made a same gag N 415.
So ;natters went on till Is3l, tiovernment
not interfering. By lord Grey's ;Ministry a
yearly grant of Mena to each of the above.
named societies was proposed to the House of
4 %minions. and by them voted without objec-
tion. This mode of assistance, with some
variations in the amount, continued until '39.
By its introdnetion an important step was
gained—the recognition of the principle of
State interference in educational matters. But
here the merit ended. Grants were given pro-
portioned to the stints voluntarily subscribed,
but no supervision was exercised over the
quality of the education imparted. Thus, in
'39, the great question," How far shall Govern-
" nw*nt interfere, direetly, for the teaching of
the people?" remained practically unsolved.
For a simple grant in aid, or annual donation,
though it seemed to affirm the existence of a
public duty, was not, and could not be, con-
sidered as the adequate oreven attempted dis-
charge of a public debt. But when a normal
training-school for masters of all religious
persuasions was proposed, not merely under
the general patronage, but to be maintained
directly at the expense, of the nation, it be-
came evident that. a struggle of principle must
ensue. Very high language was used by the
more extreme party in the Church. " The
" clergy," said Mr. (now Archdeacon) Denison,
"did not wish to divide the province of edu-
" cation with the secular power." " The State
"shall altill'aled Mr. Sewell. "without a
" creed, and without a sacrament, and without
" any ministerial authority from God, under-
" take to educate the people of this country.-
The meaning of words like these—and words
like these were used at meetings held throughout
the keigth and breadth of tlw land—was simply
this, that the State should teach the children
of churchmen only, and exclusively through
the church—that all right. of secular control
over the teaching given should be formally
waived—and that, if Dissenters received any
aiyi whatever, it should be separately, and in
the form of a mere eleemosynary pittance.
Such a cry, raised by such a body, was more
than a weak Ministry durst face. They re-