The Express.
London, England, 1866-10-03 00:00:00

HIGH WATKIL AT LONDON pRIDGIL

THIS DAY —Morning. Oh. Thi A/ternoon, 9it. tom.
To-Yonnott—Morning, 10h. 27m Afternoon, 11b. rim

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3.

Tam opening of the first of the Middle Class
Schools, under the scheme proposed and ener-
getically prosecuted by the Rev. Wieerem ROGERS,
is an event upon which he and the inhabitants of
London may be warmly congratulated. The great
Central School of the original design still remains
tlaiDg to be hoped and worked for, but the
promoters and managers have shown a buai-
nose-like capacity most necessary in undertakings
of this kind by setting to work at once, availing
themselves of the opportunities and materials at
hand, while they prepare for the later full realisa-
tion of their more comprehensive plan. The
school in Bath-street, City-road, has come into
existence in full working order, and equal to the
education of five hundred boys, in less than twelve
months from the time when the scheme was for-
mally submitted to the public at the meeting held
at the Mansion-house. Three hundred boys had
been entered as pupils last Monday, and it is certain
that before the week is out tho applications for
admission will exceed the accommodation at pre-
sent provided. The premises and school machi-
nery—the educational plant, as Mr. Goseeme hap-
pily designated them—have been provided by the
liberality of the banking and mercantile commu-
nity of London. As, therefore, no rent, or profit,
or interest on capital such as the proprietor of a
private school must necessarily provide for, is re-
quired in this case, the school fees payable by pa-
rents have been adjusted solely with a view to the
supply of a revenue adequate to the annual
working expenses. The Head Master, the Rev. W.
Jowerr, undertakes that the Bath-street School shall
be " a first-class school, second to none ; while
Mr. GOSCHEN is confident that the pupils will re-
ceive "an education of which they will not be
" ashamed in after life." And the charge for all
this is 41. a year.
We rejoice in the establishment of this school
for the sake of the boys who will be educated
there ; for the sake of the benefactors of the insti-
tution, who will have the pleasure of seeing a
noble work year by year yielding a rich return of
public benefit ; and, above all, for the sake of one
of the most honourable and deserving classes of
men to be found in this great city—the married
clerks and warehousemen, who know the value of
education, but in these times often find it very
difficult to educate a family of boys at such schools
as have hitherto been accessible to the children of
parents of limited means and without social in-
fluence. But we should have much more reason to
rejoice if we might take the opening of this school
as an evidence that at length the minds of our
middle-class countrymen are awakening to the
value and importance of education, and becoming
sergible of the immense deficiencies in this respect
which ass people we have to make up ; if we
could feel sure that its establishment was but the
earnest of persevering efforts to be continued until
advantages equal to those which it offers have been
placed within reach of every family capable of
aspiring to them. Look what benefits have been
derived to this capital from the City of London
School since its establishment thirty years ago.
It has trained up thousands of boys, and sent them
out thoroughly furnished for tue work of life,
enriching society with members whose tastes and
judgment, formed on right models, have made
them the allies of whatever is good in the
world. What reason is there why such
schools should not be multiplied until the last
candidate for admission has been taken in 4 It
cannot be want of money in a wealthy city like this.
The Bath-street School has been set going by
means of subscriptions to the amount of a little
more than 50,0001. At this rate half a million
of money would give us Mr. ROGERS' great cen-
tral school of a thousand boys, and eight local