The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-17 00:00:00

Oxford Local Examinations.

The public distribution of certificates and prizes to the
candidates who gained them took place yesterday at Willis's
Rooms, King-street, St. James's, which were awarded by
Earl Granville, K.G., the President of the Council for Edu-
cation. The noble earl arrived at two o'clock, and was re-
ceived and conducted to the platform by the Rev. E. Hill
and the Rev. F. H. Joyce, presiding examiners; Edward
Pinches, London secretary ; W. Barker, Esq,, Rev. Dr
Goodwin, R. Heath, Esq., the Rev. W. Hodgson, Rev. W.
S. Jones, C. P. Mated, E q , Dr. Pearce, Dr. Pinches, Rev.
11. Swells, Rev. W. Williams, Dr. Wilson, Rev. Dr. Eimer
ton, P. Knightley, Esq , J. D. M. Pearce, Esq., Dr. Hodg-
son, P. Le Neve Foster, Esq. &c.
Earl GRANVILLE, in opening the proceedings, said he had
been requested by the committee to say a few words before
distributing the prizes, and in the name of the patients and
friends of the young men who were to receive the degree of
associate in arts granted by the University of Oxford, to
express to them their and his own congratulations of their
success. (Hear, hear.) Perhaps at the same time they would
allow him to say a few words on the occasion. It had always
appeared to him that notwithstanding the great height
to which general civilisation had arrived, yet in every
country the se stem of education was a matter of debate, as
to the manner in which it should be applied to youth, and
how its principles should be conducted. He had been lately
in Italy, and was glad to find that great country—in the
welfare of which they all felt so much sympathy—steadily
progressing ; yet one of the strongest feelings to be found
there, was how to give education to the people and to ac-
quire a system which should meet the wants of all classes of
the community. He happened to reside with an intel-
lectual family who found considerable difficulty in the edu-
cation of a son. They thought it better at last that he
should be educated at home, for at the present moment
great dissatisfaction existed with the system purused in the
ecclesiastical colleges, where a letter could not be written
by a youth, even to his mother, without its being opened and
read by one of the superintendents. Now that was not a
system which would for a moment be tolerated in this
country. (Hear ) Then, with respect to France, there was
no country in the world where the State had taken so much
on itself in the matter of education, yet notwithstanding all
this there was great room for improvement, and several
important changes were required. (Hear.) Then, as to
themselves. Some of the most eminent of their prelates, of
their clergy, of this statesmen, of literary men, and persons
engaged in the promotion of education, held that that of
their labouring classes required also some improvement.
Some persons imagined that a retrograde step had been
taken by the changes recently adopted; but while he did
not agree in those opinions ho would leave it to time to
show that those opinions were not well founded. They had
lately a commission apponted to inquire into the system
adopted in the public schools of the country, by whom a
most useful and excellent report was drawn up showing that
while some cf them were excellently conducted, still he was
bound to say with regret that in several of them the boys
did not get those habits of industry which would bring
education home to the daily habits of life, and especially as
regarded those whose social position would entitle them in
after life to ex rcise considerable influence on those by whom
they were surrounded. Much had been said of the educa-
tion given to the middle classes, by which he meant that
class who would not send their children to the national
schools, but who could not afford to send them to those of a
higher description, Much had been done in this respect
already in Yorkshire, Sussex, Devonshire, and other coun-
ties in England by the examinations of the Society of Arts
and by local examinations through the medium of the Lon-
don University, and last, though not least, by the exertions
of such a body as that by whom he had the honour of being
surrounded. (Hear, hear.) It was also impossible not to
see the advantages conferred on the cause of education by
the benefits lately conferred on the country through the
instrumentality of the learned and old Universities of
Oxford and Cambridge. The statistics presented to
him on this subject were indeed very satisfactory, showing
as they did an amount of 37 per cent above the old system;
and ho was glad to say that London was 2 per cent even
above that. [(Eiean) Still it was impossible not to see that
education, after all, was not what it ought to be, yet the pre-
sent state of things was a type, which ought not to check
the exertions of such a body as the present. On the whole
subject an application was made to the Government by Lord
Brougham, Earl Fortescue, Mr Chadwick, and others inte•
rested in the subject, to issue a commission of inquiry, to
which they had great pleasure in acceding, and in a few
days he hoped the names would be known to the public.
When that occurred, it would be found that those only had
been selected whose knowledge and experience would enable
them to conduct the inquiry in an able and satisfactory man-
ner, and with the utmost harmony as regarded the interests
involved. Tho feeling of the Government was, that the in-
quiry should be a wide one, so as to fill up the void between
the inquiry made by the commission of which the late Duke
of Newcastle was chairman, on the education of the working
classes, and the report lately published by the commis-
sion which inquired into the nine great public endowed
schools of England. He could assure them that the recom-
mendations of that commission would be strictly attended
to,'and that no restriction whatever would be placed in their
way to prevent them making the most efficient inquiry.
(Hear, hoar.) Having alluded to the speeches on this sub-
ject lately made by the Archbishop of York, Sir S. North-
cote, Lord Wodehouse, Canon Moseley, and by Mr Arnold
of Oxford, he next referred to the address lately delivered
at Nottingham by Mr Lowe, whom he characterised as a
man of rare ability. He said he concurred in much that
was said by the right hon. gentleman, but expressed an
opinion entirely adverse to his as to the management of the
endcwed schools of the country. No doubt those schools
yielded about £300,000 a year; and although the edu-
cation given in them might not have given general satis-
faction, ho did not believe the people of this country
would ever consent to their entire destruction. (Hear,
hear.) Having alluded next to the impossibility of
doing away altogether with classical learning, he concluded
by earnestly congratulating the successful candidates on the
honours they had attained, and hoped that success would
be a forerunner of their prosperous career in this life and
their happiness in the next. The noble earl then resumed
his seat amid loud cheers, and the distribution of the prizes
commenced.

They consisted of books and the diploma of the Univer-
sity, which each candidate received at the hands of the noble
earl, who wished each success in their future career. The
number who received them was 143, sliming to what an
extent this system of local examination has progressed
within the last few years.

This ceremony being concluded,
The Rev. Dr GOODWIN, in a brief but truly practical
and eloquent speech, proposed a vote of thsnks to the pre-
siding examiners, the Rev. E. Hill and the Rev. F. IL
Joyce, for their valuable services at the late Oxford local
examination held at this centre.

The motion was seconded by the Rev. W. WILLIAMS,
and was passed unanimously.
Dr C. H. Prricirrs (of Clarendon House School) next
proposed, in most appropriate and eloquent terms, the grate-
ful §entio of Oa raootipg for the kincluoas of Earl Oranyillo