The Sun.
London, England, 1855-05-03 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF COMMONS-YESTERDAY.

The SrnAlan took the chair at twelve o'clock.
The following bills were read a third time and
passed :—lnverury and Old Meldrum Railway ; Surbi-
ton Impyovement.
The following bills were ordered to be considered and
read a third time :—Cornwall Railway ; Executor
and Trustee Society ; Folkestone Improvement ; Glas-
gow Water; Newcastle-upon-Tyne Improvements
Plymouth Great Western Docks ; Saint Georges Har-
bour; Ulster Railway.

NEW WRIT.
On the motion of Mr. C. BRUCE, a new writ was
ordered for Renfrew in the place of Cal. Mure, who has
accepted the Chiltern Hundreds.
PETITIONS.
Petitions were presented by Sir J. Trollope, from Lin-
coln, praying for the closing of all public-houses
Sabbath ; by Mr. Hadfield, from Independent ministers
in Lancashire, against grants for any religious denomi-
nations ; also, a petition in favour of education on the
voluntary principle ; by Lord H. Vane, two petitions
from Darlington, for the abolition of church rates ; by
Mr. Walpole, from the Scotch Presbyterian Church,
London-wall, against the Marriage Bill.
EDUCATION (No. 2) BILL.
On the order of the day for the second reading of this

bill,ir J. PAICINGTON rose and said he had not in.
tended to offer ary observations on this stage of the bill,
but be believed the object of the bill was very much
misunderstood, and he therefore hoped he might ask the
favourable attention of the house to a measure which it
might be thought presumptuous in him to bring in, but
which he had at all events introduced with singleness.
of purpose. His great object was to provide extended and
religious education to the population of this country on
the most complete system of toleration with regard to the
great principle of liberty of conscience. The machinery
of the bill would be conducted by grants of public
money, to be expended by local boards duly responsible
to this house. He had to make one earnest appeal to the
house to give their vote for the bill on those great prin
ciples without respect to matters of detail, which could
be only fitly discussed at a subsequent stage of the bill.
All the existing schools in this kingdom were connected
either with the Church of England or the great denomi
national bodies of the country. The population had
during the last half-century increased wonderfully ; but
it was undeniable that the Church bad failed to keep
pace with their religious instruction, and if the
dissenting denominations had not stepped in that
population would be in a far worse state of igno-
rance than unfortunately they now were. (Hear.)
He did not think it necessary now to detain the house
further than to move that the bill be read a second time
Mr. HENLEY rose to move an amendment that the
bill be read a second time this day six months. It wae
because he felt most deeply that if the house were to
affirm this bill, the result would be not only that i;
would not extend education at all, but most of all that
it would not extend religious education. (Hear, hear.)
He believed the question they had now to decide wa-
whether they should foster the great principle of volun
tary education in this country—(hear)—or by an experi
meat of this sort throw back indefinitely the progresa,
already made by that system. The bill would,
moreover, be attended with an enormously increased
amount of taxation. (Hear, hear.) He thought there
was one evil at the root of this question, which was not
sufficiently kept in view. He did not think that was
education which merely taught a person to read an
write, to do some sums in arithmetic, to tell the reign
ing sovereigns of the world, or the geographical positiot
of various countries. What he regarded as edueatioe
was a system that would reach the heart ; that wouh
teach a person to know and do his duty to God and man,
and thereby be enabled to go through life as a goo,
Christian, and a good citizen. (Hear, hear.) lle be
lieved that, comparing the people of this country, in re-
spect to education and morality, with any other people
in the world, short as had been our means, they would
be found at least equal if not superior to most other na-
tions. Hebelieved there never was a time when they could
look with greater satisfaction to the state of our institu-
tions than the present. He did not deny that there wa,
much ignorance and crime that he could wish to see re
moved ; but he believed that, do what we would, ther-
would be always some crime and some ignorance, and
he also believed that this bill would not be effectual in
removing either crime or ignorance. The first point it
which he differed from his right hon. friend was as t,.
the number of children attending schools. By the census
it appeared that there were 2,140,000 children attending
day schools, and about 2,400,000 attending Sundae
schools. Mr. Horace Mann said there ought to be
3,000,000 of children attending school ? The teal ques-
tion was, why were not those children attending
school! He believed it was not for want of schools.
(Rear.) Mr. Mann had omitted one important element
in his calculations, and that was owing to the great
distance at which many of them lived from school.
The next difficulty was the indifference of the parents.
Sow was his right hon. friend to deal with that? It
could not be done by compulsory means, and therefor,
they should be still in the same position. (Hear.) The
next.point was as to the poverty of the parents, and hr
believed as to that the bill could afford no remedy, ex-
cept that it proposed to make the schools free. So far
good. If the bill proposed to make the new schools
free, it might do some good ; but if the bill proposed to
make the existing schools free also, it would stamp pau-
perism on the whole population of this country. (Hear,
Lear.) His right hon. friend had on a former occasion
adduced Austria as being one of the best-educated
countries in the world ; but he (Mr. Henley) maintained
that, although education in Austria was entirely com-
pulsory, the number of children who could be brought to
attend schools in that empire was not equal to those
attending schools under the voluntary system in this
country. (Hear.) He came now to the quality of the
education proposed to be given by this bill. His right
hon. friend had omitted in his speech all notice what-
ever of Sunday-school teaching, which was a most valu-
able element in the education of the people, and without
which we should be in a much worse state than we were
at present. His right hon. friend had referred to Austria
as being one of the best-educated countries in Europe ;
but it appeared from a statement published by Mr.
Kay, that while in England, in 1846, the number of
persons convicted was 60,000, in Austria, with a popu-
lation of 33,000,000, the number of detected crimes—he
begged the house to observe the word—was 5.9,494. Mr.
Kay's work referred to 1837-8, -as wends 1846, and the dif-
ference between those years was trifling. It appeared then
that the whole population, excepting Hungary, which was
not included, was 23,652,000. The total number re-
ceiving education was 2,338,985, which gave a propor-
tion of the whole population of one in 10 and a fraction;
while in our own country the number gave one in 8 and
a fraction. With regard- to crime, the number of crimi-
nals was 29,492, 'or as nearly •as possible one in 800 in
the population. As to morality, the number of births
was in the whole Austrian empire, in 1846, 976.495,
while the number of illegitimate births was about one in
every nine and a fraction. (Hear, hear.) His right
honourable friend had also referred to America, ai
affording a good illustration of the benefits of national
education ; but he (Mr. Henley) believed the house
would not much value any national system of education
which did not also include a religious education. (Hear,
hear.) He knew his right hon. friend condemned the
religious system set up in America. (Hear, hear, from
Sir J. rakington.) His right hon. friend cried " hear,
hear," but he would remind him that the American na-
tional schools were originally set up to teach a religious
education, but had gradually slipped down to be a purely
secular system. (rle.sr, hear.) The right hon. gentle-
man (Mr. Henley) then referred to the evidence of Mr.
Baines before the Manchester and Salford Committee,
of which his right hon. friend (Sir J. Pakington) was a
member. Mr. Baines stated that he wished to
speak with great respect of the American schools
as to their secular c'taracter ; but he felt bound
to add that they were not what they were origi-
nally intended to be, as originally they were intended
to give a religious education, whereas the teaching of
religion was almost altogether banished from them.
(Hear,
hear.) Another witness before the same com-
mittee, Mr. Trernenhere, said he bad consulted a great
number of clergymen in America, and they seemed to be
almost all of opinion that the present system of teaching
in the American schools tended to loosen all definite
ideas of Christianity in the mindsed aof the people. (Ilea
had
r,
hear.) He (Mr. Henley) believ great increase
bf the peo o
takeiee place in the education y
toioffincia o l
returns rte of this coun-
the number of
try ; for it appeared
was, in 1818, one in 17 ;
children receiving education
, while, in 1851, it was one
in 1330, it was one in l
He believed, then, if this
in 81. (Hear, hear.)
ea
bill was passed it would, the
thoef advancingeduoation
rapidly in the right
of the people, tend to retard and
should"
now allude
Having
referred to foreign countries, he,
the 'state of our own country- The three chief sources of
illustration he should refer to were crime, drunkenness,
and larcen •
by retu- Y. With regard to drunkenness,
to 15 9rjkta that in 1841, when the populationitaampopuTtreedd
lane 4•411.°_00. in that year in all the towns of Eng-
-er pereensitoove 10,000 in'nabil‘ants, the whole number
1851, Nebentniged with drunkenness was 75,265. In
crease of " Population was 17,900,000, or an in-
neat was 7.0,3 r cent. the n
otlaer crimi ° • Witell.zgard to cases of larceny and
umber of cases of drunken-
other.
n the ground the
births in 1845 the
in 1852 it was 6 riane in
7
eao4tyt° :ere equally favourable.
ane, number of illegitimate
not large, still is a larg, fre.°Let,_small fraction ; while
the right direction' ; shee'wel thr. ,e 111" decrease was
mind that there had a ;a-e
nit g
es
att
itt
aeet:::i
at :ba eet
oe
lib
iar
nal e
severity of our criminal lawd
ityezift referred
(Hear, hear.) The right her during the
to our army, who had boree•tentlene„, e°tY Years.
and privation with but one thoneebeliftetne
duty— (hear)—and he could not " ttiii-lat
that t
which produced such fruits could think that tat.:l their
(Hear.) He objected to thia beeene:e.bad Rgeenatu
tax upon real property. It would entail ber
0,000,000/. and over ; and, besides that, fer -u:„4"em
ling that would be expended on:: of that sourceevijhitit.
vernment would have to contribute an equal amount 0-
If 2,000,0001. more were to be raised by -..
Government
eust be done by increased taxation, and that must be
°°jle, as the fairest means, by an increased i
ncorne tee
'`"tiett would entail another half of the burden on reek
vs°l 1 14 or ee
~ in other words, real property would have-
by
,thel.4e6o 9eP
would tICII• out of the 4,000,0001. contemplated
entet 1 • (ilea; hear.) Ile believed also _this bill
'exiiitedeienaciateater hearthurnings than at present
other reason,eg;tt to church rates, and that was ,itat-
tlernan then enter-6;1.0)4016%d
sea oto anal she
right hon. gde-
en:
tails and machinery of f the various
till, and he contended that
6 bough the bill professor
t would do go La zum to give a religious instruction
43 Only, 444 not in reality ; and