The Express.
London, England, 1849-11-30 00:00:00

LANCASHIRE PUBLIC SCHOOL
ASSOCIATION.

A large public meetin4 of the friends tea
motes of the objects of this encisgstis e was held i
eveniog. Nearly • Othusand
pp:len:tool sight ear --"la
tore Theatre of the Atheneum, Manchester, on 11,4' tbm---
the middle dot
were present, and the chair was taken by air. Am,
C. J. 8. WALKER, a county and borough inatise,..
chairman of the Manchester board of guerij,e,„ .hest
The CHAIRMAN, in opening the pewee-diem
kis warm approval of toe objects the association
and said he trusted that the prejudices now existiog
',stern, which wore people were pleased to call
edk
would soon disappear before argument end r
keew that whatever their o
scheme of education, ignorance was ninth more tte''
than the education it would afford—(applatuk)-yeli7
lieved that men were likely to become far men tiekLl
glom if educated than if suffered to numbs in "°'
I (Applause.)
Dr. WATTS, on rising, was received with loud ewe_
lie said—lt had been over and over soda eume:re—sie,
we were to have in Ragland an educated people. ~„,"°‘
get them educated by system; and if they were te":„.,141
system, it must be a national system. We had mani..,
for many years past, exerted ourselves to the e •
I capabilities and means, in order to induce additiosej
tions by the parties with whom we had bses,
Efforts had been made, from time to time, by alaaoq
eons setts, and by many parties who did not woo,
religious sect, in order to extend educa•ional edvaehe4
to raise the moral standard of the people at
Bat situated se various parties were, it lee d„„—oh
utterly impossible that the result of these date
be otherwise than partial. Perhaps If we deaths* eir,
meta and all the known parties who had say DeZ
(awls, in the country, we should leave behistiV"".,,,..
large mass of people who could not be eluoified into tech
them parties. Now it so happened that those very eet—
who did not belong to any of the mete, acid MIS' -"se.
quently, could not be come at through mews of the
or by the political parties who had hitherto 'semi-'.
interest in education—these people ware dawn
untouched by all the efforts to originate a sithei7,
education; and it also happened unfortunately etej
were the very people who required most to be
there were the people lowest in intellect in the ge,7„..
were the people most wanting in moral goalie:elk-it asses"".
There were many exceptions to the rule he dosttel
deed he had known them in his own espuje,,,..
must recognise all of us, that the people who get op h.;
morning merely to eat and to drink, and to no tni
at night to sleep, and whose lives wars Neel k
this circle—these were the people who most elk
guidance, and them were the people who did net o
all get it. (Hear, hear.) Well, now, if we were tohlest
systematic education—if we were to have an eduateipeo,
we must ; and he thought we ought, in the fun plan, e
provide for those people who had been hitherto act
thoroughly seglected. (Hear, hear.) One of oar Imo
common political axioms was, that innitunces eo
&tied ia our necessities. People who mode,*
governments, told us very frequently that governesses,,,
lilted in our vices. Doubtless these axioms wer• tree, so
for him they were arguments in lav or of alumnae, to it
was to society's interest that we should superset vice; al
that both society and government did actually oriental,
our necessities. We gad also a very commonly gusted win,
that union was strength, and we acted upon it in Kato
If we met with an individual tresgester we edit
undertake to chastise and punish this individul tee
passer ourselves, but we handed him over to the green
meat. Government, in this case, represented the woes
of the people; for fin.sirg that union was strength, enjg
the feelings of all society against the individual trespasses,'
order to make sore or beating him down, and the*
punishing vices which might otherwise gain (road ere
elev. He wished it to be understood that by also als
term" government," he did not partihilatly Cods to ge
Queen's executive government, but to any and evew bird
government, either is the form of municipal aor
other form. Wh power was delegated ,it set=
a government. New he thought that he had establish%
principle that there were some things that aightleeh,
gated—some things which could be better dons by a psms
ment in some shape than by individuals +kinsman**,
m nt. Well, now he come to the question as so Moho
the thing before asked—the matter they were ihneteee
eider—whether education, secular or moral, wig ON
things. which could with advantage be dilated tops►
mint in any shape. We came to the considered,* d
question and he should cancerous. to ineintsia maim
one of those things tun. could be deleeattal m peas
mint with advantage to society. Let them esesidetlin
were the tiling' they ought to delegate to govemanst. h
bad already cited the repression of vice, the sahmentd
dirks, and the draining, lightiug, deausint, and sem*
of towns. Oar government bought to oelorce au that,
penalties and punishment, in ewe of neglect; s.d lee
ceeded tolerably. Well, then, it became a question whig
education, secular end moral, could be delegated ia lie
manner, and with like advantage ; for he reinstate
was no individual present who woud maintain tem, Ilm
left the sewering, lighting, and cleansing of towns es 6
individual owners of property, they would In dose hale
than at present, notwithaanding all the grein•ing Ali '
which a town was kept in regard to its ICS
Well, could education be defeated in like manner ?V:
duty of government, as he underotool it, was w presses
society. That was the grand object; whatever else we IM*
snips to it, were secondary duties, or rather divisions alai
one primary duty—the preservetioa el society. It wall
' almost appear from this fact, that any daty, the 'melted
which tended to break up society, must devolve=
eminent. New if he asked them WOK duty
was, and referred them to politician', he bad no eo RW
would agree with him that parties who were pisitivelielt
were not responsible to the law, and he thought tees
was no getting out of the argument that if polities the
were not to be held reavinsible to the lee, thin s
semi-idiot could not be held responsible. hest) It
appeared to him that a child who got nothina Iron ma,
owed nothing to society. If they developed ins eWeel I
powers, in return for this it owed to society ptipieslliW,
and this must be performed, or men would suite. It they
neglected its mind, gave it nothing mental, he prated
would owe to society no intellectual duty ; but if they in
that the child was educated, then it became sok
as well as physically responsible to society. (HIM
beer.) He had tried to show that all hie
the neglect of which tended to break cep Inef
must ultimately devolve upon government. It Nal
be u
child. srulyppotliiiiengdthutey
poafrentt did not perform to
orni thea
thetll: nepareL
what then ? We sought to enforce it, and it was the dills
government to enforce that duty upon the punt eq.
that the government could not enforce it, that the num
away and could not be found, whose duty was haat
educate the child? There could not be the slightest inks
devolved upon government, and government must min
it, or society broke up. He believed it was begiesist..
be found out generally in this country, as M
been known in America, and as our canna
neighbours had also found out for sass
ter
past, that education was very much chespet.,al:
punishment. (Hear, hear.) He thought it won
found impossible to enforce a man to attend to dueler
lion of his child, and, if this was so, there was thereto
necessity why government should do it for him. Bet Own
was a feeling that all governments were liable to Offilyal,
if not so corrupt as individuals, and it was generallY met
he thought, that the further they were off the more aor!,
they liable to corruption. The question then obetted on
whether they could not do better for the purpose' of two_
tion to establish a local agency or government Over
every ratepayer and every parent in the town order ,
should exercise a direct and legitimate influence? (01;1
This was the basis of the Lancashire Public School Amer
tion's plan. Having shown that secular and moral...elle
tion was a thing which could be delegated, proms
did not trample upon conscience—and, independent
this question, that society must educate the n
'lOO4
suffer for its own neglect, he thought there wee renal
enough to give ground for establishing their (the
Lane
system, if people would be guided by
reason; but rjudioe existed he would say a few words on that Mot
And, first, as to conscience. Men said that yen car
not forte their conscience. Well, whore It II the le'
who conscientiously objected to *secular and moral ioib
tion? No man would acknowledge such an obinn
nakedly, yet this was all that the present ateociatin
posed to give. He could understand how a Man • Os.
ecientionsly object to the presumable state of swill in;
would result from their plan without the supper_rj
religious doctrine, but seeing that there was no polliowt:
a general pion including religious doctrine, the pal tims
wee—not to try to overthrow a thing which is raj
far as it goes, but to work hard in the theta
laces set apart to make up the deficiency. (API"Wii
They were not to reject a slice of bread bane_
was not a whole loef—(hear, hear)—but to accept the in
joyfully, and to work again for the remainder. (Appicow
-Ea thought the religions part of education was mast
party the true sphere for voluntary exertion, and anareM2,
large enough space for the present. Let this society get!
schools in operation, and it would find voluntaryin!wn
enough in chapel and church•bsiMing, lin'
and other Godlike pursuits, to make up for the lonia.;
aels ab and the two-and-two-make-four caplet's' t°L,t
present day, which consumed so much time in the heed
that might be more advantageously used. (Rears le w
t 2,
Dr. Watts concluded a long argumentative address o
rust applause.
V(r. J. STORES SMITH, wig received with eglifan.
Be said he would just remark, in the first place, that ate!
egesedoo when Mr. Boswell came to Dr. Johnson to r ;Mr,
his Wail upat some perplexing subject, the latter 1,05. M.
et geaseeetiy, sir, to clear your stied of cant." Bans!:
if we were to Jake that as a rule to go upon in all MUM
of conscience, emre especially in this matter, ste_.llr,
arrive at a more sic: 'factory coaclualon than if wee diai2
If those who es= for ward to dims. this sueltif B ike gel
take some moral medieue to clear their minds
which was at the bottom obscuring the mental
wordtt;
great many of the difference between tray.. Om
speedily settled. (Applause.) Ho '7° to ;fared
advantage of th Lanomhire plan theS ,/
Of ratepayers a fair share in control ;few
seshosh. Bach men could not object to the try,:itieg
meat kr neetagaithe poor and for ira,P_TZha 101
ligtedeg find ,Be , yet y art
enema se he at the little shtheare in the caojtsl
theme *Ws. Bat the Lancashire Public School Allor,„„„og
pienewegith seem* means ofescaping popular countro2l:oZie-
sot whit that the working men should go abc
etimealeat died
tedame, but they said to them. "
ganhatien Refs hpic
by which the working classes will have Mae ro.
dos for their children which is needful, and they shstjoet
it of their own choice, and under their own Connell