The Express.
London, England, 1863-11-03 00:00:00

YOUTHS' CLUES.

An emiunut English writer, speaking of growing
youths between the ages of fourteen and nineteen, thinks
it would be well if they could all be paced uoder eut.
lingeisbere until they became young men. As this anti.
allni has not met with any great amt Out of opposition,
we are bound to consider that it meets the views of a large
and respectable class. Few people have any real sympathy
with the hobbledehoy. If her intelligent be asks
troublesome questions, and is crammed to overflowing with
a great deal of knowledge that most of us have learnt and
have forgotten all about. lie is painfully precise upon
rules of grammar, names and dates of history. and pro-
._ .

Heins of arithmetic, and be seep becomes a bore. If he
is stupid he is gm/rally troublesome in other way., and is
often gluttonous, clumsy, and obstinate. Whether Intel-
lipnt or stupid, however, he thinks himself fit company
for men who world rather be without him,
He moo nods that something is wrung, although he hardly
knows what. He becomes ashamed of his youth, brumes
he sees that others have little sympathy with it. Pailiog
to find companions of his own age and testes, he stretches
his neck and stands upon tiptoe. His cap is changed for a
premature hat, his jacket for a premature coat, and his
toffy for a bad cigar. He turns his back upon cricket,
rounder, peg-in.the-ring, sod a dozen other healthy outdoor
prom, and looks towards hot 6011'rd-rooms and frowsy
casinos. He may, and most probably does grow into a
sharp, active, average man ; but for want of 10010 social
resort and reoognitiou after school hours his youth is cat
short, sod he becomes, in every ammo, a form! plant.

This is the social condition of thoonsods of -middle-class
boys, who naturally enough, like " working men," are not
tempted by the ioy attractions of " litechaeios' Institutes,*
or who are not fortunate enough to find a cheap cheerful
eons-house, in some corner of which they may
read, drink tea, look at chess-playing, and be tole-
rated. Thonsaade of other boys belonging to • lower
elass, who live up oourta and back streets at night, and who
work hard in ■hops, office', or in carrying parcels all day,
have nothing to look forward to after labour in the shape of
steady settled recreation. Their MOWN appearance, aid
habits do not lead them to '•Mechanics' Institute,* or
oeffeeshops, and they are not often attracted by the bare
alatea, desks, and copy-books of an ordinary evening school.
It is for this clam that " Youths' Chiba" have been
Aided, with a feeling on the part of the promoters that
something more was required by tired boys than • few
boors of hard instruction. Amusement and friendly Inter-
course one with another, freedom of action within certain
kends, with book education whore it is demanded, are
tharefore provided fora small weekly paymeat.
The first of these youths' clubs was started at Dover, by
the Rev. Henry White, tow chaplain of the Chapel Royal,
is the Bavoy, Strand. It has been in existence more than
lye years, and numbers, we believe, between one and two
bandied boy members. Silvertowa, in the Woolwich
unites, started next, with a mixed dub for boys and mem ;
bat es it has broken through the main idea of the pima
InstiteSion it has hardly any claim to appear in this list.
S.vea•sks followed in 1860, with a club of thirty youths, a
fair number for a small inland town, or village without a
railway ; and laliegton COMO net, in the spring of the MOO
year, with apromising institution of a haudred boy members.
T►e next on the lid is Bayswater, which started in the lat.
ter part of the same year with eighty members, and whisk
Went out • fairly trained band of juvenile instrumental
musicvms. lb. Dower and Islington institutions are the
meat encouraging on the list, because they are more newly
salf-rapporting than she others. The Central Institaticat
in London, which is under the management of the Rev. H.
White, the founder of these dubs, will shortly be re-opeo
slam I. lindelletrest or Swallow-street, and an endeavour
will then be made to found • " Unice" for more distant
ebbs, cm the principle so successfully carried out by the
Bev. Henry Sony.

The London Central Club, which numbers about two :
herbed members, Wes opened in January, 1860, at the •
Lowther Arcade Exhibition Rooms, and remained there until
it wee lately driven out by the Hasa ice vendors. It is now
seeking rooms in one of the street. we have mentioned above.
Molise of the founders end promoters has been to ill up
time pp in the life of working boys whisk roses between
the leaving school and their attain* manhood. The
p Me been to fit op two large mama one for resoling
and amusement, the other for climes and lectures. The
rending or club room will be mods r light and rine.
tin as possible, with plenty of pa, prism%
sad a rat wall-paper. limy friends of the working-cheer,
when they star► an inetitntioo, forget that the eye requires
food es much as the mind, sod think they hare done all that
is newerary when they have provided a building like a cab.
Male ore wub•bouse.. This hardly does in three days of
Ralubitions and Crystal Palaces, and the managers ef
" Tenths' Clubs" are too alive to the necessity of making
things pleasant to fall into this error. The clubroom will
be well supplied with books, magazines, newspapers, chess,
dienghte, tactics, end other pines, sod the library will be
hors* filled with sound fiction sad readable volumes. The
rooms (as before) will be opee every evening from seven
until ten, and the dames held will deal with history,
geography, writusg, chess, arithmetic, drawing, French.
singing, and English grammar.
The subscription for each member, if fixed upon the old
wide, will be sixpeoce weekly, with • sliding entrance.fee,
which will buy admission to all t►e privileges of the club,
sad to the classes, colleens, and lubarcre. The lectures
will be given gratuitously, like the initial, by friends of
the institution, and will always be ea " popular" subjetle.
Sometimes the members, who are chiefly youth. employed
in shops, printing and stationery establishmoota, or m
mesesmers in codices about the neighbourhood at wages
varying front six to ten shallop • week, hare united to
give mixed musical and elocutionary entsrtainineets, sod
they will doubtless do ee @pie. On the mon serious side
of the institute prime will ho distributed to those pupils
who may distinguish themselves by their diligence and
good redact ia the several classes.
When this Central Club was it operation on this system
et the Lowther Rooms the avenge weekly ►ttendanne of Ike
Iris was ►bout one hundred sod twenty, sod they paid up
their weekly selmeriptions with Martial pr.:Aural'''. Look-
ing at the boys as they sat in their club.rocen, it was
impossible not toss that they felt amongst their fellows.
pangsters played at shoes or draught' with each other,
and es whichever side the victory turned there was none of
then uneasy feeling that occurs wine a boy overcomes as
elderly oppoort The Minis of youth we act shacked by
say angry glances cut from under spectral*. Some of the
members reed their newspapen, others magazines, and 0006
.1 QM felt that they were Mending in the way of people
old enough to be their grandfathers.

lookiog at the'duostiocii plan of these institates it
as, he easily supposed that the "club" is oaly • school
leader another name, aad that the members, although they
pry • fair subecriptioe, are over-managed and coerced into
Imps awing their roads. Tbe Rm. Heury White MIMI/ is
Ile is out the case. "In carrying out our plias," he aim,
"the greatest possible liberty is ;noted to the member in
their choice of studies and amusements. No sumeemmary
aback is given to their freest and pleasantest MLitt: use en*
with another. The good result of ibis dealing is wen M the
ceastant and unwearying ',Modem* of a large majority
of the membere, and in tivir close and affectionate
Misclacent to their teachers,, sod to one another.
This treatment has only utterly failed in a few instances.
Those fedoras have led to the abandoning the kepi with
which the institute firet set out of reforming the unruly end
evil-diapered. It has hem proved that • system deist eacagh
to reform ale wayward sad wicked must work Lushly aid
with discouragement near those who are witherr to nee
liberty without abusing it. This experience has led to the
babel that the institute must not pretend to be reformatory,
theegh it is most truly preventive."
There is a little too patronising a lone is these remarks,
and a slight forgetfulness of the fact that each boy pays as
sanual subscriptiou of IL 6s. a-year, besides his small ea-
imam fee. This is as much as is paid by may members at
folLblown institutions, and more thai is demaadsd at maay
literary institutive" It is not the fault of the existing
hey members if their numbers sad subscription are sot
saflcient to defray the expenditure adopted; they have no
vepresentetive voice in eontrolling this expenditure it I.
friesdag the rules of an isetitutioa which ought be safest
enertgh members to free it from a dependeace on charity.
The difficulty with this mead boys' club his hitherto
bees the payasest of rest, sad the Rev. Henry White
tasks that his institet* outset be mainly selLeapporting.
Subscriptions and donations, to the extent of more than
MIX, were therefore obtained for the club at the Lowther
lames, including a voluntary irate of 501, from
the parish of St. Nettie's. Mr. W. H. Smith, the
treasurer, and as earnest friend of this ebb, ales pre is
IL* meet subetantial assistance, ser that the published ac. '
eresefe show a proportion of only ows.filth self-help to about
feenAlfthe charity. The astral Leedom working boys,
maims we ere mob mistakes, ems certaialy de mach better,
Soo SO It they are duly mewl, swooshed bed busied.