The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-29 00:00:00

IHE SUN, :LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 29, 1864.'

Oxford Local Examinations,
4-

• At nttingham yesterday the diplomas and cer.
tificates obtained during the present year, together
with several prizes given by gentlemen connected
with the district, were presented to the successful
clndidates by Mr Lowe, M.P. The Mayor of Not-
tingham (Mr W. Parsons) was in the chair, and
among those present on the platform were Earl
Manvers, Sir It. J. Clifton, M.P., Mr H. Masters,
High Sheriff, Mr Sherbrooke, Rev. D. Melville,
University Examiner, Rev. T. Morse, vicar of Not•
tingham, Mr C. IV right, Dr Tindal Robertson, and
Mr William Enfield, local secretaries, &c.

The MATOP., in opening the proceedings, alluded
feelingly to the death of the noble duke who last
year distributed these rewards, and who only yes-
terday was consigned to the grave. He was sure
that the Duke of Newcastle would live long in the
grateful recollection of the people of Nottingham—
not only for the great interest which he had always
displayed in the advancement of education, and in
the welfare of every institution in the town calcu.
lated to promote its social and material welfare, but
also because by his death our beloved Sovereign lost
one of her best and surest advisers, and the country
one of its brightest ornaments. (Cheers.)
Dr TINDAL ROBERTSON, one of the local UM,.
(cities, said that in 1858, the first year of these exam
minations, there were eight local centres; this year
there were 16. In 1858 the total number of youths
examined was 1,226, and this number had now in-
creased to 7,155. In 1858 the percentage of passes
was about 35 ; in 1864 it was about 67. In Not-
tingham in 1859 there were 28 candidates; in 1864
there were 36. The percentage of passes in 1859
was 32, and in 1861 it was 55. The percentage of
those who passed in honours ih 1859 was 7; in 1864
it was 19, (Cheers.) These figures spoke for them•
selves and needed no comment. Dr Robertson
then road a letter from Mr Paget, M.P., who ex•
pressed his regret that a previous engagement would
prevent him from attending; and he also deplored
the loss which the town of Nottingham and the
whole countty had sustained in the death of the
Duke of Newcastle.

The eueecseful candidates having then been snm•
moned, and having received from Mr Lowe the
prizes and certificates awarded to them by the
examiners,

Mr LOWE said—l have now gone through the
gratifying duty of distributing the prizes and cer-
tificates acquired by the young gentlemen in the
List examination of the University of Oxford. I
fear that it will be impossible to add anything that
will be new to the very admirable and striking
remarks made already on this subject by the Mayor;
but in a case where it is desirable to make a per,
menent impression, not only on those who have re-
c 2ived the prizes, but on the community, who, I
think, scarcely come fcrwerd as might be expected
from its intelligence and wealth, I will, even at the
risk of repetition, go over some of the ground tra-
versed by those who have gone before me to-day.
First, I would strongly exhort my young friends,
although by their present exertions they have
gained a great step in life, not to consider that they
have gained a point at which they have a right to
pause or slacken their exertions, These certificates
are valuable, because they prove that the know-
ledge of these who have obtained them has been
tested and found competent. But let it always be
remembered that the value is in the knowledge
rnech more than in the certificate; that the certifi.
cate,thaugh of value, as a thrivative—beeause it is an
evidence of kuowledge—is not valuable for its own
sake. Let the students before me rather consider
that the point they have reached is a sort of table
land, from which they may start afresh and go on
further; that if it was worth while to acquire the
knowledge they have now shown, it is worth their
while to retain, to develope, and improve it; and
that what they have now done is merely to attain
a point from which they may arrive at higher
eminence. Let me beg of them to give what
time they can spare from other pursuits to de-
velops that knowledge for which they have
to-day shossn so much industry and capacity.
Even if nothing else were gained by it, the mere
promotion of the habit of reading and study is of
itself ono of the moat valuable acquirements
that a young man can make. In the familiar
words of a classical writer, we may say of those
studies that they delight us at home, are no impedie
meat to us ebroad, help to soothe the tedium of our
sleepless nights, and lighten the fatigue of long and
toiisome journeys. (Cheers) A young man who
Las formed a taste for reading and study has a cons
stem solace ; he gets that which is likeliest of all
t hiegs to keep him from worse tastes and pursuits
—a companion that will never desert him, an en•
joyment in which he can indulge without extrava-
gance and without self-reproach, while it is far from
being a barren possession, because among men of
ordinary capacity it is the greater amount of read.
ing which one man has compared with another by
which he is distinguished fiom the crowd, and
which conduces to his success in life. I think I
have now raid enough to enforce the argument that,
having gone so far, it is above all things undesir-
able that those who receive these prizes should
think that they have done all that they need do.
The certificate is "the guinea stamp ;" the know-
ledge which is gained is the "gold fcr a' that."
(Cheers.) In this country there is a class of per-
sons who make it their business to decry examina-
tions. A sort of false compassion is expressed for
people who are always undergoing examinations.
It is talked of as one of the miseries of life, and
peeplo.are very often facetious in their remarks on
this subject. But what I have always felt is that
any one who objects to examinations is really ob-
jecting to have all things ascertained instead of
taking them on trust. That is the whole meaning
of examination. A man gives himself cut as
knowing certain things. We say to him, "Prove
ir, and we will believe you." Never take for granted
anything you can test. There you have the ra-
t:0)1,11e of examination, If it is worth while for a
man to know anything, it is worth his while to
submit to have his knowledge tried, and the man
who shrinks from a test and says he could do it if
ho liked, but went try, will be pushed aside in the
race of life, and deservedly so, for-
4, lie either fears his fate too much,
Or his deserts are small,
Who fears to put it to the touch,
And win or lose it all."
That should be the maxim of the young man
who tries to rise in life,—to come forward and give
evidence to the world of what he can do. The days
are long past when people were called on to give
proof of their prowess. In the time of knight-ora
rantry, when a gentleman offered his hand to a lady
he wan expected to defend her in a very different
way from now ; it was his strorg arm that she was
to rely upon to protect her from insult and injury,
and the ladies had a way of finding cut whether
their suitors were worthy of the charge. One
knight was sent off to fight a fiery dragon, another
to draw three. teeth from the jaw of the Sultan of
Babylon, or to perform some equally agreeable ex-
ploit ; while one lady whom we read of in story
threw down her glove between a lion and a tiger,
and bade her knight fetch it. These tests proved
that the gentleman was equal to the task of pro-
tecting his future wife. Such days are past, but
it would now be no bad test for a young lady in
making choice of a husband to consider whether he
has shown that industry and capacity which are far
better calculated to promote his success in life than
the mere possession of so much money. I suggest,
then, to the fair ladies of Nottingham that if they
are balancing between two suitors, they ought to
give much %%Light to this condideration, because,
bk:ltt.ve me, a man whu would ducceed in life bus
uudt:r, ordinary eircumstencts fur more in his own
pJworthala any one would imagine from reading
bunsation novels and that class of literature. Of
c thfro arc ehstzeks, such an failure of health,
!; man'e rogrcs-ond nglinnt :'hick we
c ; hut orslionry ei:cuzist%nec a every'
man of avernge ability call industry is master of
his own destiny'. If a mare' eapectations are limited
C.,1),:c :ty, there is wiling of which he need
d:spair. I know not that I can further enforce this
opinion, eo I :sincerely congratulate those who have
obtained these prizs r, uric I do hope that the next
person who shall come here to distribute them will
find from this great, intelligent, and wealthy ec„.„
hau ht'hertu
a larger nu user of candidates t

Presented themselves. I rejoice to see that some
have vassed the examination in science under the
Seience and Art Department at South Ken-
sington. I consider that the Government
have taken a wise step, and as it was not of
my own originating, I can speak of it without bias.
The plan is that when a master who is proved to
have proper qualification for teaching science has
produced a pupil who passes a certain examination,
that master is to be paid by the State for having
done so. This is a simple and efficient machinery
for developing a knowledge of science throughout
the country. It is not so well known as it ought to
be, and therefore I take the liberty of commending
it to your notice. Let me add a few words now
about examination, because it is the question of the
day as regards education. I have always been ex•
ceedingly favourable to it, because, as I have said,
it is always better to know a thing than to take it
on trust, and if a man gives himself out as possess%
ing certain qualifications it is well to test them in■
stead of taking his own word that he has them.
Already this principle has been fruitful of the most
valuable results. We have seen, for instance, its
operation in the civil service, where a great part of
the appointments are given on examination. People
may say it does not follow because a man has passed
a successful examination that he will therefore make
the best servant. Perhaps so. But examination is
valuable not so much for its positive as its negative
side—not so much because of those whom it selects
as of those whom it rejects: The amount of stupi-
dity, incapacity, and idleness excluded by the simple
requirement of a tolerably strict examination is
enormous; and for every person so kept out of the
public service an immense public benefit accrues,
because he not only does nothing, bat he demoralises
an office, he hinders and seduces those who would
otherwise make valuable and industrious servants.
(Hear.) Then. I can speak of another matter with
some confidence,:and that is with regard to the exam
mination recently introduced into the primary
schools devoted to the education of the poor under
the Committee of the Privy Council. Tho Govern-
ment represents the secular element of education.
The different denominations that have schools re-
present the religious element. Leaving religious
education in the hands of those bodies, the
business of the Government, was to stipulate
that, in exchange for the assistance they gave,
as much secular instruction should be im-
parted as could reasonably be looked for. The ques-
tion was how to ascertain with any certainty whe-
ther this amount of secular instruction was given.
Formerly the way we ascertained it was by sending
a gentleman to report. That is to say, he took a
great deal upon trust, because, however intelligent he
might be, no man could by merely looking over the
schools form a thoroughly accurate judgment upon
their efficiency. Instead of this system we have in-
troduced the plan of examining each child and mak-
ing a payment for all a ho pass the examination, the
result being that we have given an enormous stimu-
lus to the teaching of these children, and have re-
quired it to be shown, as we had a right to require,
that the Stet e,which pays for this instruction, really
gets the article it pays for. (Hear, hear.) There
ie another remark I would make before leaving the
subject of educational tests, and that is that those
who think they can in their several vocations avoid
examination are quite mistaken. They may avoid
the form, and exempt themselves from the possibility
of obtaining prizes and honours at such tx mina-
Lions. But they must remember that if their bread
is to be won by their own abilities, their whole life
is really one long examination. The barrister when
erosasexamining a witness, the clergyman in his pul-
pit, the physician attending his patient, the statese
men in the House of Commons, aro all really under-
going examination. (Hear, and laughter.) True,
they are transacting the business of their callings,
but they are doing so under the eye of an intelligent
and discerning public, and according to the opinion
which the publie foam of their capacity depends their
success or failure in life. Ail life is thus not a formal '
but an actual examination, and men prosper or fail
as they satisfy the conditions of examination. In-
stead, therefore, of avoiding educational tests, we
ought to make up our minds to them. It is of no
use to make wry faces ; it is better to meet the
difficulty honestly, and to master it boldly. What
we have to do let us do, as the wise man coun-
selled, with Ell our might, sure that if we do this
the result will crown our labours with success.
(Cheers.) And now I will mention one other
dna of examination. It has thrown a great deal
of light, and it has drawn a great deal of attention,
to the state of middle-class education in this country.
Those who speak on these occasions seem unable
to escape from this subject. 1 confess that I also am
drawn into the vortex, and I yield to the influence
the more readily because I am afraid I entertain
opinions which are not generally broached. I vie se
this subject as one of great importance, and think
immense benefit will arise from discussing it. It
does not seem, to me that the term " middle-class
education" is very happily chosen. To my ear
there is in it something rather supercilious and one-
sided. Nobody talks of hiroself as belonging to
the middle cusses, and it is only those who,
whether rightly or wrongly, consider themselves as
belonging to the upper classes who use this term.
As I say, I do not much like it, but finding it in
common use I also use it. Another objection that
I have to the term is its extreme vagueness. What
do we mean by " the middle classes ?" It depends
very much on the subject with which we connect
them. If we are speaking of political power, we
give those words ono meaning—if of education, we
attach to them another meaning. For educational
purposes " the middle classes" means all those per-
sons who, being too well cif to send their children
to the schools assisted by the State—the schools of
primary education under the Committee of the
Privy Council—are yet not sufficiently wealthy to
send their sons to the great public schools. This
vast class—comprehending almost all the commu-
nity, except the very poor who live by manual
labour, and the very rich classes—is, for purposes
of education, " the middle class." It is thus really
defined only by negatives. What it is we do not
know, and when the subject comes to be thoroughly
sifted you will find that " the middle class" must
be divided and sub-divided into several classes and
categories before any system of education can
be made thoroughly appreciable to anybody.
This class would hardly include the child that was
just above the primary school, or on the other hand,
the child that was just below Eten. It is said, and
said with truth, that though we have got a type
of primary education, with which I am disposed to
be content—the reading, writing, ciphering, and
religions instruction which together form a good
education for the poor man's child—for the great
middle class we have no such type. The schools,
it is said, cannot be reduced under any general
head ; they differ in every possible way, some of
them being imitations of the public schools, some
resembling the primary schools, some based on one
system, some on another, with no definite type or
arrangement which will apply to all of them. It
is said to be the intention of the Government to
issue a commission upon this subject; and a great
deal of good will be done if the subject is thoroughly
investigated, and we learn what these middle-class
schools are, and the work they are doing. The
question is, what remedy shall be applied ? We
all agree that the system is defective, but how is
it to be set right P Now, there are two very
favourite nostrums. One has been put forward by
a learned professor of the University of Oxford, and
is in considerable favour with some whose opinions
I hold iu much respect, and for whose philanthropy
I have still gecater respect. It is that the State
should take the matter up, that we should steal a
leaf out of the book of the French system, that we
should create- a multitude of Lycjcs and Gllnanases,
the Government taking upon itself to found, endow,
and teach in all the schools of the middle classes.
!`low 1 for one empi at leally dit ipprovte filet sugges-
tien, and T. will give such reasons as cccur to me,
In the first place, the taxes cut of which these
schools must be endowed are taxes raised not only
from the middle and the upper but from the work-
ing classes in this eruntry, end fl far as I under-
stand the question it is neither just nor cqeitable
to tax the poor in order to educate the children of
nersns rill° are perfset;y able to rmy for that
education thlnnelves. (Hear, hear.) That is one
very serious objeellon. There is another, which
would nut per has so readily occur to you, but

which is equally insuperable—the religious diffie
culty. The moment you come to endow these schools
the question as to the religious teaching there would
arise, and upon that every system would infallibly go
to wreck. You would never got parties to agree upon
the religious teaching, and the scheme would be ship-
wrecked at the outset. This dilemma would present
itself—either you would adopt one form of religious
teaching, in which case it would become obnoxious
to all the denominations which it did not include ;
or else, religious teaching being left unprovided for,
you would be told that this was " Godless" educa-
tion. There is another objection to the system I am
considering, because I hold that it is the duty of the
parent to find instruction for his child. This is the
first duty arising out of the relationship between
parent and child, and I know no principle upon
which the State ought to take the duty out of the
parents' hands and discharge it for itself. (Hear,
hear.) It might be well in the cities of ancient
Greece that the State should break up the ties of
family, and should educate its own citizens. But
English society is founded on the family tie; it is
the relation of parent and child which holds the
whole of this community together, and it will be
an evil hour whenever the State shall invade or seek
to interfere with that relation. (Cheers.) There is
another reason which you will probably think of no
little weight—namely, that there are no peculiar
means by which the Executive Government of the
day can ascertain what would be the proper educe.
tion for the middle classes, if such a measure were
introduced into the House of Commons, the Govern-
ment of the day making a programme of the studies
to be pursued, the other half of the house would
probably declare that these were the very worst
studies which could be devised ; and when that
side came into power and produced their plan, those
who had been criticised would in turn, no doubt,
beoome equally ready and merciless critics, so
that after all we should come to no settled conclu-
sion. For these reasons I hope we may not come to
see any interference by the Government in the way
of directing what middle-class education should be.
(Hear, hear.) Then there is another suggestion which
is very popular, and which I dare say will attract the
attention of the Commission—namely, that those en-
dow men is which have somehow gone astray from the
purposes of popular education shall be by some
means recovered and applied to their legitimate
use. I have not the slightest objection. No doubt it
will be very agreeable to the parents if their bur..
dens can be thus lightened, I am not going into
the question. But though you may get endowments
for middle class education, and by ao much lighten
the burden of the parents, it is utterly impossible
for you to form, taking endowments as your foun-
dation, any type of a satisfactory middle class edue
cation, and for this reason—if you want to preserve
like the fly in amber, like a fossil or a crystal, the
prejudices, the ignorance, and the mistakes of one
age, for the full 1.1.ee of light prevailing in another
age, there is no such expedient as an endowment.
(Hear, hear.) This has succeeded perfectly where-
ever it has been tried. A thing may be right and
wise in the days when it was done, but time will
not waif', and it is left behind by the progress of
events. This is just the contrary of what we want
in education. What we want for a type of middle
class education is something which will meet the
requiremeets of the times, develop° with the idea,
of the time, improve as we improve, and adopt and
absorb in it ail the new light we can give it. (Hear,
hear.) Now, the last place to look for this is in an
endowment, You do not want a dead but a living
limb, concocted with a living body, and nothing
can be more fatal to progress than to suppose that
you can, by availing yourselves of the money of
dead men, give to schools the vitality and energy
which can only arise by eontact with the living,
breathing mass by which you are surrounded.
(Cheers.) Another objection to endowments is that
in an endowed school the master is always paid
whether the work be well or ill done. The master
of the unendowed school is not paid at all by parents
unless he does his work efficiently, and thus these
schools acquire a stimulus in education which
endowments have really the effect of destroying. I
come now to a third mode of proceeding. According
to the vulgar proverb, " Those who pay the fiddler
have a right to call the tune." Who pays the fiddler
in this instance ? Tho parents. Then it is for the
parents of the children of the middle class to say
what education these children ought to receive
and neither by the State nor by endowment ought
that power to be taken from them. But
then I am met with the difficulty that that has been
90 all along, and that the parents of the children
being apathetic and lethargic things have come to
their present state. Well, then, we have narrowed
the question to a very small point, because, admit-
ting that this cannot be done by the State through
the Charity Commissioners or Parliament, and that
it must be done by the parents, the whole problem
now is how are we to enl;ghten the parents of the
children as to the proper education of the children
whom they send to these schools. That opens a
very difficult question. I have told you that the
schools of the middle class are situated between two
extremes—the primary and the public schools. I
may be told, then, that the answer to this problem
is exceedingly simple. " Incorporate into your
middle-class schools the reading, writing, and
ciphering taught in the primary schools, end in ads
dition take so much of the teaching of the public
schools as would be found necessary and useful for
the purposes of the middle class," That, I think it
would be said, is the course which ought to be
adopted. But then comes the question, " What is
the teaching in these public schools, and what part
of it can be thus appropriated ?" Here arises a serious
difficulty. At Eton they teach Greek and Latin. If
you ask what else, you will bo told Latin and
Greek. (A laugh,) I cull out of Latin and Greek
that which will be useful for the great mass of Eng-
lish youth who have to toil and earn their bread by
business-like habits. The difficulty cannot be solved
in that way. It is almost incredible that the diffi-
culty should exist, but it does exist. And it is hard
to understand when you look at the history of the
thing. Eton and Winchester wore founded in the
reign of Richard 11. and Henry VI., in the darkest
time of the middle ages. At that time there was no
knowledge except Latin and Greek, and very bar-
barous Greek. The good founders, by their statutes,
gave the children all the knowledge that could then
be got. Consider how the people were situated.
The first germ of physical science did not appear
until Bacon's time, 200 years after the founda-
tion of these public schools. The new world of
America was then unknown. The noble litera-
ture of Germany, of Spain, and the greater part of
Italian literature, had no existence. Nearly all mo-
dern history may bo said to have come into t xest-
ence since that time. For then there was only the
history of Greece, or that of the corrupt empire of
Rome. All else was the squabbles of kings and
barons—which Milton likens to the conflict of kites
and crows—from which nothing was to be learnt,
except the propensity of human beings to destroy
each other: It was natural for Wykeham and the
other founders of our public schools to confine the
education imparted there to Latin and Greek, there
being nothing else to teach. But now that we have
extended our knowledge in every direction, does it
not appear a little strange to retain the same sys-
tem of teaching as prevailed in the time of Richard
11. and Henry VI. ? I will not follow this topic fur-
ther except so far as it shows that the public schools
can be no guide for those of the middle classes, and
that we cannot seek there for a typo of that com-
plete education which should be given to one of the
rising citizens of a great and free empire. What I
suggest is that, putting aside prejudice and mere
historical views, the Commission, and all of us in-
deed should consider what ought to be the cduoa-
tion of the middle class, who are called on to make
their way in life by intelligence, probity, and know-
ledge. I I.:ou'd lay down certain prineiplos with
confidence if it were not that the tide of prrjn hiis
Set in with great strength. It appears to me that the
object of education is to teach a person that which
it is most important he should know. This seems a
very simple proposition, and eo one in the abstract
will dispute it. Now whet is it of the most import-
sacs a man should know I' Setting aside religion, of
which I am .not speaking, is it not more important
that he should know the notaal state and cotldition
of things around hire than thse mere names of thingil
My first pre:.atition we cannot find time
to touch all, it 'auto hop n taut to “:„ch thiut43 and

impart facts and knowledge than to teach words ;
the second is, that it is more important for an Eng-
lishman to know the history of his own country than
that of anyother country in the world,past or present.
That is perhs,ps true of every nation, but it is more
true of England than of any other country in the
world, because the world has never seen such another his-
tory. Since the conquest it has grown gradually up, each
part fitting into the other, steadily and majestically deve-
loping itself like one of our noble oaks here in Sherwood
Forest--expanding into one single mighty whole, so that we
can trace the rise of every familiar institution and custom to
the most remote antiquity. (Cheers.) The history of
France goes up to 1789, but then occurs a great gap which
nothing can ever fill up. I say that the world has never
seen such a history as ours, and, that being so, is it not bet-
ter that a boy should learn thoroughly the history of his
native land rather than spend his time in reading the wars
of Greece, or the bloody quarrels of democracy and aristo-
cracy in Rome? All these subjects have their use, but is
it necessary that such immense importance should be at-
tached to them as we now see ? Is it not more important
that a boy should learn modern than ancient history—that
ho should know a little of modern geography instead of
being carried back into remote antiquity ? Well, then, I go
a step further. Is it not better that an Englishman should
be master of his own language than that his time should be
spent in learning dead languages which he will never be
called upon to write or to speak? Persons will always be
found to study the dead languages for their beauty, and
Latin will always be necessary for a gentleman. But to
make Latin and Greek the principal study of youth—l am
speaking of the middle class—and to suppose a boy has got
an education when ho knows nothing of his own language,
nothing of modern history, nothing of modern languages,
nothing of bookkeeping, nothing of physical science, is to
invert the order of everything, and to put the pyramid on
its apex. Is it not far more important that a boy should
speak French or German than that he should write Latin or
Greek ? For his advancement in life there can be no ques-
tion that the modern languages are more important than the
dead languages, from the many fields of industry which
they open up to him. I am not speaking of those who can
afford to throw away these best years of life, but of those
who have to fight their own battles, who have to acquire
not only the knowledge which produces an effect upon the
mind, but that which has its own intrinsic value in the
battle of life. What can be more idle for these than the
making of school verses, whether Latin or English ? What
worse education can there be than that of trying to make a
lad a poetaster ? Any man of fair education can string
verses together, but among 10 millions of men who can do
this there will not be found one whom nature hath endowed
with the gifts of a true poet. What can be more absurd
then than to attempt to make young men write verse who,
from the extreme rarity of the gift, cannot possibly succeed,
and who, if they did by chance succeed, would probably be
consigned to misery and to poverty for the rest of their
lives P (Laughter.) Tho object of the education of the
upper classes seems to me to be words, not things, as if the
triumph of education was to make a man a sophist, a
poetaster, or a schoolmaster. Now, I do not think that is
all we ought to do for English youth. We may do better
things than that. In the first place, I am not at all sure
that we do not materially injure the very objects we intend
to promote by too exclusive a cultivation of the dead lan-
guages. Our aim is rather to give taste than knowledge,
yet taste is exactly the thing which no education can give.
A man has it or he has it not. Some men we know who,
without pretending to any considerable acquaintance with
classic models, have a correct taste, and in their speeches
you never hear an instance or an illustration which is in-
appropriate. There are not in the House of Commons two
men who speak with better taste than Mr Cobden and Mr
Bright, yet neither professes a very exact knowledge of
classic writers. On the other hand I could mention men
who have studied the classics closely, and can hardly open
their mouths without offending some rudimentary canon
of taste. The fact is, that education may give you ideas
and words, but not taste. And I do not know why it
should, because, though taste is the delight of society, it
is not a thing which ought to be looked to in so rough
a scheme as that of popular education. I venture to think.
that these maxims do embody a scheme upon which a
really sound type of middle class education may be founded.
It can only be enforced however by the will of the parents,
and all that can be done is that those who have an opportu-
nity of influencing public opinion should use those oppor-
tunities in order as far as possible to develope this subject
in its different bearings, work it out more fully than I can
now do, spread information, and so pave the way for a
sound system of education in England. Lot me remind
you before passing from this subject that in the study of
Greek and Latin we are not following classical examples.
Words could not express the indignation with which an
ancient Greek would have reoeived a request that he would
learn Persian, and the Greek language does not contain a
word equivalent in sense to our word "grammar." Yet
these people carried human intelligence further than any
people who ever lived 1 They were educated to understand
things about them, and allowing other countries to speak
their own language they classed them with sovereign con-
tempt under the name of barbarians. There is another point
on which I wish to make myself clear. I hold that the Go-
vernment has a great interest in the education of every one
of its citizens. I would not allow the State to infringe upon
the parents' light to educate his child in his own way. But
it does appear to ins that the parents have a right to know,
if poeeible, what kind of education their children are re-
ceiving. When a man sends his child to school ho knows
very little of, he cannot really tell what sort of education
his son is receiving. That is in some degree remedied by
what we have witnessed to-day, because it will naturally bo
inferred that those schools which gain prizes aro well con-
ducted. That, however, may be a fallacious concluiion,
since schoolmasters may devote themselves to produce a
few show boys in order to make an appearance on these
occasions. What the parent wants to know is whether a
good sound system of education prevails throughout the
whole school, How is he to ascertain that ? An instance
occurs to me in the report of tho Public School Commis-
sion. The Commission proposed to examine all the pupils.
If they had proposed to burn down the schools, boys, mas-
ters, and all, there could not have been greater consterna.
tion. There is no more amusing piece of literature than in
the correspondence which took place with the master on
this subject. All agreed that it could not be done, but the
reason why it could uct be done differed extremely. I
hardly wonder at this reluctance, for if the President of the
Council were enabled to send to Eton a school inspector,
such as he sends to the primary schools, with instructions
to report that many children satisfied the standard, not in
Latin and Greek, but in English, I would venture to say
that that report would terrify the papas and mammas of
England out of their wits (laughter), and the utter igno-
rance of the Lop; of things assumed to be known by every
boy would lead to a revolution in the education there, more
rapid and moresummary than we can conceive. Why should
we not arm the State with that power ? Why should not
the State be permitted to send a person to examine any
school open for the education of children and report upon
it ? I would not let the State do more than report the re-
sult of the examination, and upon that let the parents act
as they might be advised. Supposing this Aver° done, if a
school was seen to be badly managed the master would lose
his pupils if he did not mend his manners. In this way
you would exorcise a pressure upon the schools. The pro-
cess is a slow one, but I believe it is tho only possible
process. In this country we resist things forced upon us
by Government; we like to do things for ourselves, and in
this way, if progress is slow, at any rate it is sure. I think
you will not settle the question by the interference of Go-
vernment, nor materially advance it by obtaining endow-
ments; it must be done by the action of the middle classes
themselves; and the only assistance the State could render
would bo by instituting this compulsory power of inspec-
tion, so that at any rate the community might be aware of
the state of education in any particular school. That is
not, in my opinion, en unreasonable interference with the
liberty of the subj Jet, because the Stato has a great
interest in the condition of these schools, and without
a system of State inspection parents have no means
of testing their condition. Lot me now, before I conclude,
make one suggestion as to this examination. It appears to
me very undesirable that we should have the two Univer-
sities holding different examinations. There is nothing
bettor than a competition between persons examined. There
can be nothing worse than a competition between exa-
miners. ,It tends to prevent duo caution in awarding certi-
cafes. Ono set of examiners underbid another if they want
practice, and the whole system is brought to the ground.
Now,it is desirable here that the standard should be exactly
the same, that there should be no difference between the
value of certificates awarded by Oxford or by Cambridge—
and I can see no reason why the two Universities should
not appoint a common delegation to whom the question of
examination should be confided. It is a question which
must force itself upon them sooner or later, and I now
throw it out for their :consideration. Again, we say it is
right that those who have passed a successful examination
should have the fact recorded, and that their knowledge, so
to speak, should thus be stamped into money. That seems
a just principle. ,Why is it extended to men alone? Sup-
pose a young lady acquires the knowledge covered by those
examinations. Suppose she is a goad mathematician, or has
a knowledge of any language or branch of natural history.
All ladies cannot marry. t Suppose she has to work for her
bread. What fairness is there in denying her this certificate
of proficiency which you give to every man who can gain it?
(Hear) Where is the gallantry of the male sex in refusing
to women that which we find so beneficial to men P These
things are a blot ou our civilisation. When I see that a
woman who acquires the art of printing is not admitted into
the printing office lest she should lower wages ; when lfind
an absolute panic among the doctors at the notion of any
woman prect i- jar: seems to me that our treat-
ment of the fair niad hotter half of hurnanicy is most, liar:11
and unite t. We overhelm them with compliments—we
give them precedence—but when it comes to equal jus-
tice, when they ask to have equal justice with ourselves,
wo not only do not treat thorn with gallantry and
consideration, but with the utmost cruelty and centerni,t,
(.:ear, hear.) I do not want a separate exemination for
women, but if a young lady can satisfy an examiner upon
the same subjects us are set before men, she is us touch en-
titled to the advantages of this certificate BS they Lave ;
and it is narrow-minded, an unfair, and au unehristinn
thin; to (Lily this certificate to her, Tito right hoti. gentle.

man paid an eloquent tribute to the character and public
services of the late Duke of Newcastle, whose interest in
the subject of education he specially eulogized, and con-
cluded, amid loud applause, by expressing the pleasure
which it gave him to visit a country endeared to him by so
many recollections, and to discharge the duty which ho had
now so imperfectly fulfilled,

The Rev. F. MousE, Vicar of Nottingham, moved a
vote of thanks to Mr Lowe for his attendance and able
address.

In seconding the motion the Rev. D. Melvin, Canon of
Worcester, and ono of the examiners, said that Oxford was
anxious "to unite with Cambridge for the purpase of these
examinations, but he was told yesterday, on high autho-
rity, that, at present at all events, the thing was hopeless.
The motion was carried, and Mr Lowe briefly acknow-
ledged the compliment.
The proceedings concluded with a vote of thanks to the
Mayor for presiding.

The Mysterious Death in the Green Parke
-0---

ADJOURNED INQUEST.

Yesterday afternoon Mr Langham, deputy coroner for
Westminster, resumed the inquiry at the Westminster Hos-
pital respecting the death, from alleged violence, of George
King, late gas inspector, in the employ of the Chartered
Gas Company.

James Hooper, of King Henry's-road, St John's-wood,
said he was in the Green Park between four and five on the
day of the occurrence, and saw a man lying on the grass ap-
parently asleep. He did not see him fell ; he was lying on
his back, breathing heavily, and apparently insensible. He
thought the man was in a fit. A woman came up and said
she had:seen the man fall, and strike his head very heavily.
He jumped up, and again fell and struck his head another
violent blow.

A footman employed at Marlborough house confirmed
this statement.

Jesse Chew, of the Horse Shoe, King-street, remembered
the deceased being brought to his house by two men. He
supplied him with some brandy. He did not seo whether
he drank the brandy. He complained of having been
drugged.

By Mr Draper (for the friends of deceased)—His house
was much used by the police.

William Stanton, 47, Grosvenor-street,Pimlico, cabdriver,
said that on the 3d September, about half past four, he was
plying in the Haymarket, when the deceased came up to him
and spoke. lie had a friend with him. lie was then per-
fectly sober.

Henry Beveridge, one of those who wont to the police-
station on the morning after the occurrence, said he asked
the inspector whether a doctor had seen him. H a replied
in the affirmative, and said Dr M'Cann had reported that
the man was in liquor. He bailed him out.
Inspector Green deposed that he had visited him fre-
quently in the cell during the time he was on duty, from
twelve to three, but did not hear any noise as if he were
throwing himself about. Ho did not enter the cell. but
looked through the little wicket, threw a light in, and saw
him lying there.

A Juror put several pertinent questions to the witness,
and said that from his answers he did not actually know
whether he had seen deceased at all.

By Mr Wontner —He last visited the deceased about a
quarter to three. He was breathing at the time. He had
visited him five or six times. Inspector Bradshaw told wit-
ness that deceased had been to the hospital, and the doctor
reported that he was drunk.

Inspector Bradshaw (recalled) repeated that he was on
duty when the deceased was brought in charged with being
drunk and disorderly. In his opinion he had been drink-
ing. He visited the deceased twice between seven and nine
in the cell. He appeared to bo asleep and was breathing
heavily.
By Mr Wontner—He had never seen the deceased him-
self at the station looking after the gas meter, he had been
told so. He spoke to the deceased, but could get nothing
from him but a groan.
By a Juror—When he saw the deceased first ho did not
see any marks or bruises on the head or forehead. They
always looked at every man before he was locked up.
Inspector Swanson deposed that ho was on duty on the
morning when deceased was bailed. He positively denied
that the previous witness Beveridge, when he came to bail
deceased, asked witness if the deceased had been seen by a
medical man, and that he told him the divisional surgeon,
Dr. M'Cann, of Parliament-street, had seen him, and had
reported that he was drunk. If Beveridge had sworn such
a fact, it was positively untrue.
By a Juror—When the deceased came from the cell to be
bailed he stood up in front of the desk. He did not observe
any wounds on the forehead or bead.
By Mr Draper—The deceased's wife was outside the
station. She made no charge against the police that he had
been ill real ed and murdered by the police. He was positive
of that.

Joseph James, gasfittor, deposed that ho was present when
B::veridge went to the station to bail deceased. He did not
hoar any conversation between Beveridge and Inspector
Swanson relative to deceased having been seen by the divi-
sion surgeon. lle was present the whole time, and if any
such conversation had taken place he must have heard it.
Tho deceased's wife was at the station door, Ile did not
hear her make any complaint of her husband having been
ill.used by the police.

Police-constable James Hancher, recalled—When he saw
deceased in the station-house ho did not observe, any wounds
on the head or forehead.

By the Coroner—He positively denied that be ever struck
the deceased. Ho was on reserve duty in the passage.
By Mr Draper—Ho visited deceased several tittles in the
cell in the usual way, through the wicket. He 'hen got
the key, opened the door, and looked in. The deceased got
up from his seat. He had not got his hat on. Witness
advised hint to put it on, and shut the door, as he thought
all was right.

Walter;l:Mobald, police-constable 63 A, said ho was on
reserve duty on the night deceased was in the station. Ho
saw deceased, but saw no wounds or bruises on his head.
Saw him sever al times in the cell. When ex reserved duty
ho never carried a truncheon ; it was not usual. He was
relieved by Police-constable Maidment, He positively denied
that he ever struck deceased.
Police-constablo Maidment recalled. He positively denied
that ho ever struck the deceased while under hiS charge.
Police-constable li'Farlane, who brought deceased from
St George's Hospital to the station, said the deceased
walked, but appeared very weak, Ile (witness) put his
arm through deceased's on their way from the hospital to
the station. Ho positively denied that he ever struck the
deceased.

The Coroner then proceeded to Enna up. Ito said that
it was hardly possible to exaggerate the importance of the
case, having regard to the difficulty of coming to a satisfac-
tory conclusion. He trusted that the jury would give-to it
their most earnest consideration. They would first do well
to bear in mind that although the fall which it was proved
the deceased underwent in the park might have caused some
of the injuries, yet it did not follow that all the injuries
from which he suffered were thus occasioned. There were
three periods of time, in some one of which the fearful in-
jury to the skull and brain, from which death resulted, must
have been received. First, during the time which elapsed
between the moment of his parting with Cazely to enter the
park and his being found lying cn the ground near Stafford
House ; secondly, while he was being taken to the station-
house from St. George's Hospital; and thirdly, while
in the K ing-street police-station. He would not waste
time by considering the suggestion that the fatal injuries
were received after the deceased was bailed out of the
station, as the fact and the evidence conclusively negatived
such a supposition, It might then bo first assumed that
the deceased was perfectly sober when he entered the park.
'rho medical evidence was decisively given that the in-
juries were not the result of a fall, but of a fight or a
very brutal assault. Now, it appeared improbable the fatal
injury was the result of an attack, made in open daylight
in the midst of the park. Robbery was not a motive, for
the deceased was not plundered, The medical evidence,
conflicting enough on various points agreed in this, that the
injuries to the skull and brain had not been inflicted at the
time the deceased left St George's Hospital in the custody
of police-constable M‘Farlane. Where then were they in-
flicted? M'Farlane led him along Constitution-hill and
Birdcage-walk at seven in the evening. It seemed impro-
bable that that officer, who appeared to have behaved with
kindness to his prisoner, could have hurt him. Then came
the period of time during which the deceased was in the
police cell. He was handed from the custody of ono inspece
tor and ono constable to another, and all those men when
asked, after the usual caution, replied that they had not
struck the deceased. But it should bo borne in mind that
the injuries were such as could not have arisen acciden-
tally, The bruises were almost the size of a walnut, and Mr
Hawken stated expressly that they were such as would be
produced by the blows of a truncheon. If the jury were of
opinion that the pol:ce had struck their prisoner, a defence-
less unprotected man, such repeated blows with a truncheon,
it was his duty to tell them that such an act would be
proof of such malignity of disposition that it would amount
in the eye of the law to wilful murder. It was painful to
arrive at such a conclusion with regard to the A division of
police, which was the picked corps of the force ; but if the
evidence led to that conclusion, the jury should not shrink
from ifs duty, but to return a verdict of wilful murder
against some person unknown. But if, in spite of the me-
dical evidence, they should think it possible that the inju-
ries resulted from falls, or an assault or fight in the park,
then they should return an open verdict, to the effect that
the evidence did not show how the deceased came by his
injuries.
The Jury were then locked up, and for nearly three,
hours they were unable to decide upon their verdict. At
six o'clock au y refill ned into court with the following w r-
diet :—" That the deceased died from the fracture of the
skull, but the evidence is not sufficient to prove how the
fracture arose; and the jury aro uuaeimously of opinion
that the surgeons of St. George's Hospital ought to have
kept the deceased in that institution, and not to heve given
him over to the hands of the police."
The unfortunate widow of the deceased, only 12 yenta of
ago, residing at :No 2, Ponsonby-terrace, Milbank, h•n=
Jell with B'3Voll children, the eldest a girl only 1G y,:11 of
ag,, the otheru varying aowu to four mouths, wholly uu-
pro vided for and &pendent on her foL support. The inl-
j pity of the witneLscs generously in,,stnlc(l the widow with
the amounts paid them by the coroner for their attenthence,

for which she appeared very thankful. It was stated that
the Chartered Gas Company and their e2nployes would pro-
mote a fund for the benefit of the widow and her children.

The Alleged Murder in Phulico.

Last night Mr Langham, Deputy Coroner, held an inquiry
at the Stanley Arms, Sussex-street, Pimlico, respecting the
death of Charlotte Frances Volhard, who was supposed to
have been murdered.

Mr Smyth appeared for the relatives of the deceased, and
Mr Roberts represented Mrs Louisa Beverley, the keeper
of the house in which the deceased was found dead.

Charles Volhard, 19, Hatfield-street, Blackfriars-road,
said he was storekeeper at an engineer's. The deceased was
his sister, and she lived at No, 47, Sussex-street. She was
28 years of ago. Ho last saw her alive on Monday night, at
11 o'clock, at his lodgings. She was in excellent health
and spirits. She'left the place,and the next day at half-past
2 o'clock he heard that she was dead. He went to Mrs
Beverley's, and they put him into another room, not his
sister's, and would not let hue see her. He told the land-
lady ho wanted to see his sister, but she replied, " Oh no; I
will let you see her at env, if you promise not to say any.
thing to her other relations." She then took him up to the
drawing room, and kept talking nonsense to him for an
hour and a half. Four gentlemen called on her during that
time, and she said one was her doctor, Mr Hoets, and
another her solicitor. She then had a fit which lasted half
an hour. When she recovered she ordered the servant to
take him downstairs to see his sister. He found her dead
on the floor, with a pillow under her head, and a sheet over
her. The room was in great confusion. A wedding ring
was on her finger, but it had been since stolen. The ser-
vant said that the police had been in, and that all the de-
ceased's things had been locked up by them, and that they
had the keys. The witness went to the police station, and
the inspector said the police knew nothing whatever about
the matter, and accompanied him back to the house. The
inspector questioned the servant about the keye, and after
some delay she pulled them out of her pocket. The inspec-
tor took down a statement of the jewellery left by the de-
ceased. After that aMr Metcalfe came and placed three
men at the door. The witness ordered a coffin, but when the
undertaker's men brought it Mr Metcalfe would not admit
it, and said he had ordered one. Ultimately it was taken in,
The deceased left no will.

By Mr Roberts—Mrs Beverley did say that she would
not have the deceased moved until the inquest was held.
She said she would not havo an Irish wake, The witness
was born in Ireland. The deceased had outs and bruises on
her face,

The witness here said with great energy, " I object to
this man being here at all. He was kissing Mrs Beverley
before my face. lie tapped her on the shoulder and said,
My litthe dear, don't fret.'"

Mr Roberts—After this exhibition I need hardly ask
another question. Will you swear 1 kissed Mrs Beverley ?
Witness—l will swear it.

Mr Roberts—l have done with you.
Mr Smyth wished to ask the witness whether his sister
bad not told him sho wished to leave the house, but the
coroner said it was not relevant.

Witness then said that his sister wore diamond earrings
and several gold rings on the Monday night. She had not
the diamonds or the rings on when he saw her text day.

Dr Parkinson Hoets, M.D:, said that he was called in to
the deceased shortly before 11 e'clock on Tuesday morning.
Mr Metcalf, a linendraper, living in Lupus street, came for
him in a cab, He found her on the floor in the back parlour.
She had on her chemise. The body was partially cold.
There was a slight abrasion on the right temple and cheek.
That was the side on which her head rested on the carpet.
There was an entire freedom from marks of violence on the
body except on one place where there was a seam, which he
was told arose from her having put her leg some time pre-
viously through a pane of glass. There was also a scratch
on the nose. He made a post mortem examination in pre-
sence of Dr Reilly and Dr B. Payne, The witness never
attended Mrs Beverley, or any one in the house. The exa-
mination led him to consider that the deceased died from an
enfeebled heart, embarrassed by fat iE a system worn down
by over stimulation and habits of drinking, He did not
think that the marks of injuries to the head or face had
anything to do with the death.

Ey Mr Smyth— Ile did not think the injuries had been
caused by blows. A quarrel, &.t., would have been very
likely to have accelerated death.
Dr B. Payne, who attended at the examination for the
brother of the deceased, gave similar evidence.
Ann Menzies, servant to Mrs Beverley, said that the de-
ceased came home at 2 o'clock on Tuesday morning, the
worse for drink. The witness put her to bed, and she said
she was not to be called till 3 o'clock in the afternoon. At
11 o'clock the witness entered the room and saw her dead
on the floor. Mr Metcalf, the upholsterer, was in the house
about some furniture hangings at the time. The demand
never had any quarrel with anyone. She had fits two or
three times, but she had none on the Tuesday.
By Mr Smyth—A Miss Meanwell called on the Tuesday
after deceased died and asked after her. The witness said
" Mrs. ltiverau (the name by which the deceased was
known) is all right." She said that for fear of a mob
gathering. The witness saw the diamond earring, Scc,, on
the deceased on Tuesday morning. She had diamond
brooches, rings, &.c. The witness did not know that some
one had offered portions of the jewels in pledge since. The
witness had some rings, &c., safe now.

The Coroner then summed up, and said that the jury
should confine themselves to the consideration of the cause
of the deceased's death. Tbey had nothing to do with the
question of the property left by her.
The jury returned a verdict. cc That deceased died from
disease of the hear:: from natural causes." They further
expressed their opinions that the landlords end ground land-
lords are to blame for letting so many houses for such pur-
poses as that to IN hich 47, Sussex-street, is applied, and
which are a disgrace to the neighbourhood.