The Express.
London, England, 1864-10-21 00:00:00

WORKING JINN'S OOLLZGZ.

Last evening the teachers and students of the
Working Men's College held a meeting in the great room of
the college, Great Ormond-street, in order to hear an
inaugural eddrem from the Rev. F.D. Maurice, the principal,
on tbs commencement of the eleventh year of the institution,
and to distribute certificates of competence to the teachers.
There was • numerous attendance, the room being crowded.
The Rev. F. D. libiontcx said eleven years ago when the
college was opened, and from that time to this, it had never
been on his part any canoe for self-laudation. It started
upon the simple principle of a cooperative movement. No
doubt in the hrstinstance they committed many blundertend
yet be thought oo looking back its principles fairly carried
out would prove to be of greet benefit to the classes for
whose advantage the college wan designed. They had re-
ceived a few blows and many kicks from various quarters,
and especially from the two leading reviews, the Edin-
burgh and the Quarterly. One of those reviews said this
movement waa emanated by the enemies of sound political
order, and the other said they were the enemies of social
order, but he had that very afternoon been reading an
article in the Edinburgh in which it wee achoowledged
that these 00-operative societies had met with wonderful
succors, especially in the north of England ; and • recent
number of the Quarterly spoke of the co-operative move-
meet as the great conservative movement of the day. The
rev. gentleman then adverted to the higher order of teaching
for the working chimes which prevails at the present time,
and remarked that it might be mid, and indeed bad been said,
that the clergy should stand aloof from such teaching, but
as far as be and his colleagues were concerned in that
oollege, they were determined not to forego that system of
education which they bad the greatest hope would ulti-
mutely be for the good of the whole human not He
thought there wan much good in the system of competitive
examination which was now so prevalent, but be doubted
whether men of eminence ever were or ever could be raised
by such morns. However the intellect might be improved,
he doubted whether the burn and minds of moo could ever
be iellueeced by each means. Reverting to the college
itself, he said they one and all desired to be member. of
• cooperative society, and any failure or hindrance
they had met with was owing to the want of a
sufficiently hearty co-operative spirit. So far se his
own work in the college was concerned he had three or
four, occasiooally five, to the bible class which he held there,
sometimes only two, or even our.. Nevertheless he would
keep it up. whatever might be the number to which it might
be reduced. The rev. gentleman then delivered certibortas
of competency to the following anaemia who have passed
the requisite examinations:—W. It. Emilie, Algebra and
Euclid; F. Frannie', English Grammar ; G. Archer, Euclid ;
A. Savage, Arithmetic ; T. Tipping, Arithmetic ; A. Roberta,
Algebra. The meeting WWI afterwards eddies/led by several
of the teachers, and a printed programme of chimes was
distributed in the room, from which it appears that chases
are formed for instraaios in Greek and Latin, French, Ger-
man, Englseh, drawing, phylokiy, English, grammar, geo.
matey, geography (pohtml and historical), physical geo-
grapy, logic, algebra, structural botany, arithmetic, Eosin&
history, and several other subjects.