The Sun.
London, England, 1839-02-13 00:00:00

EDUCATION.

Lord J. RUSSELL presented certain papers relating
to Education. In moving that they be laid upon the table,
the Noble Lord said that he was anxious, as so much dis-
cussion had recently taken place on the subject, to explain,
though without going into detail either as to the state of
education on the plan that might be proposed,—to state
generally the outline of the views of her Majesty's Go-
vernment on this question, because, whatever objections
might be made to their views and intentions—to whatever
opposition they' might be exposed—it was certainly desirable
that the opposition should be grounded on what they really
intended, and not on any fanciful suggestions of those who
chose to say " such and such are the intentions of the
Government," and then launch out into the most violent
objections against that supposed plan.—( Cheers.) He
( Lord J. Russell) was one of those who thought there still
existed a lamentable want of education, especially among
the poorer classes of the community—( Hcala hear)—
and he had thought it his duty to represent that conviction
to her Majesty, and to call her Majesty's attention to this
subject. The present state of education might be gathered
from the various reports that had been made to this House,
from the debates which had occurred both in this and
the other House of Parliament, and from the publications of
different Societies who were engaged in the useful
and benevolent task of promoting education in this country.
It resulted from all these statements, however much they
differed, that there was still a considerable portion of the
people without any religious instruction whatever. It ap-
peared from the reports of the chaplains of our goals, that
there were a great many who had not received even the most
elemental notion of instruction ; and it further appeared,
even from the statements that might be made by those who
told us that nothing more was required to be done, that the
education at present given was of a very defective nature, and
though bad in quantity, is was still more objectionable in qua-
lity. The statements with respect to the amount were an-
nexed. He believed it had been stated upon the authority of
Lord Brougham, and from tables of returns presented to the
House, that about 1,270,000 young persons were receiving
education in that country. It had been stated very
lately at a public meeting that there were no less than
1,500,000 persons who were receiving education in
connexion with the parishes. In these statements
there was a very great discrepancy, and he did not
think it right to lay any very great stress on any
returns which lie had been able to collect upon
the subject. He would refer more especially to an attempt
made by him immediately after the recess to procure returns
from the Poor-law Commissioners, and they certainly
did not produce such accurate results as to make them
worthy the consideration either of the Government or o
Parliament, as forming the foundation of any measure
likely to be adopted on the subject.—( Hear, hear. )
But judging only by the general evidence received even by
the Committee that had sat upon the subject of the edu-
cation of the poorer classes last year; in these reports it
was adverted to, and could not well be denied, that there
was still a very considerable want of instruction in that coun-
try. Whethcr he referred to those nations of the continent
which had lately taken a part, by means of their Government,
on the subject of education, or whether he referred to the
United States of America, there was some reason to say
that greater and more organized efforts had been made upon
that subject in other countries than in their own, which they
boasted was a free and enlightened country.—( Hear, hear. )
Neither was it his intention to state ally of those
plans, or compare them with that which it might
be deemed proper to adopt in Great Britain. There
was an obvious distinction between what could be
done in that country and others. In other coun-
tries the Government had from the beginning undertaken
the task of educating the people, finding that it was in a
very low state, and had established certain laws to which
all the people were obliged to conform, and to which every
school and institution subjected itself. So, likewise, in the
United States of America ; from the very:commencement of
emigration in the greater part of the States, no sooner was
there a small village, or a few inhabitants collected toe-e-
-ther, than the establishment of a school formed a part' of
their political and economical arrangement.—( Hear. )
It was obvious that a Government attempting- any
system of education in that country would find the
ground in a very different state, because it had been oc-
, upied in great part by those societies and institutions which
bad voluntarily undertaken the task of educating the people.
They would find it occupied in a certain part, certainly
by the Established Church, and in other parts by the
\Vesloyans and other Dissenting Societies, who gave edu-
cation according to their own religious principles. Hear,
hear.) For these reasons it would not be possible
to establish any system of education which should
at once supersede those recognised and established
modes, and even were it allowed by Parliament generally
to be a much better system of education than any other, it
could not be expected immediately to supplant and come in
the place of those various schools at present in existence ; in
short, no general system could be introduced without doing
violence to the habits and feelings of the people of that country.
Such a plan was unsuited to their country, and was likely
to be unsuccessful if attempted. There was another rea-
son which he much regretted to dwell upon, and
which made it improper to come to any agreement as
to a genoral plan of education in that country. —( Hear.)
Those who of late years had undertaken the task of educa-
tion had done so either on behalf of the Church or of the
peculiar sects to which they belonged, or in connexion with
a Society to which he (Lord J. ft usselphad for many ye-ars
the honour tobelonga the British and Foreign School Society,
which did not profess to teach the children the principles
of any peculiar religious denomination. The main dis-
tinctions were between the Church and the British and
Foreign School Society. The Church, not only Ecclesi-
astical but Lay persons belonging to it—contended that
they should not assist in any place of education which
I was not immediately under the superintendence of the