The Sun.
London, England, 1862-05-13 00:00:00

BRITISH AND FOREIGN SCHOOL
SOCIETY.

The 57th annual meeting of this society vela yes- ,
tei day held at the schools, Borough Toad, Earl
Russell presided, and was supported by Lord Lyve-'
den, Sir Walter Stirling, Sir J. Kaye Shuttleworth,
Mr. Bruce, M.P., Sir James Heywood, Rev. Dr.
Allen, Rev. Henry Allon, the Liberian Commis-
sioner, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Corderoy, &c.
The following is an abstract of the report of the
committee :—" The society's operations include the
training of teachers, the maintenance of the model
schools for boys and girls i❑ the Borough-road and
at Stockwell, the inspection of schools in London
and the country, as well as an extensive correspon-
dent* abroad; aid is also rendered by grants of school
materials to poor schools at home and in the colonies.
In the training department provision is made for
200 young people, the establishment for young men
being in the Borough• road, and for young women
at Stockwell. Of the former there are at present
95, of the latter 100, in the course of preparation
for elementary schools. At the Christmas exami-
nation for certificates, 72 young men were pre-
sented, all of whom passed ; of 73 young women
presented G 9 were successful. Seven inspectors
are employed, covering the whale of the country,
and engaged in the inspection of schools, holding
conferences and committees, meetings of parents,
and otherwise stimulating to action in the cause of
popular education. The number of towns and
villages thus visited is 861 ; the number of schools
inspected 1,157, including 1,347 visits to these
schools. This is exclusive of the metropolis and
its immediate vicinity, where Mr. Saunders has
visited schools attended by more than 30,000 chil-
dren. At the model schools in the Borough-road
for boys and girls there Is an average attendance
of nearly 1,000 children, and at the practising
schools at Stockwell for girls and infants of 250.
Of 82 grants of school materials made during the
year 20 have been made to new schools, 30 to poor
schools in the country and to ragged schools, and
23 to the colonies and other parts of the world.
The contemplated alterations at the Borough-road,
and the various buildings and appliances at the
New Training College at Stockwell, are completed
at a cost, including fittings, furniture, and other ex-
penses, of £24,174 Os. 5d., the whole of which has
been paid. Towards this amount the contribution
received from the Committee of Council was
£5,742 125." After acknowledging the generous
aid given by the friends of the society to enable the
committee to accomplish this important undertaking,
the report concluded with an earnest appeal for
pecuniary assistance in carrying forward the seve-
ral and important objects of the society.
The Rev. H. ALLost, in moving the reception and
adoption of the report, and the appointment of the
committee for the ensuing year, said it was clear
from the statement which had been read that the
educational millennium had not as yet arrived.
He for ene did not regret it, as he believed there
was nothing more healthy to church or to state
than a prominent dissent.
Mr. BRUCE, M.P., seconded the motion, which
was agreed to.
Lord LYITEDEN, in an eloquent speech, then
moved the thanks of the society to her Majesty the
Queen for her continued patronage of the society,
and an address of condolence on her bereavement.

Sir WALTER STIRLING seconded the motion, and
took occasion to blame the educational societies for
the opposition which they had given to the revised
code.

The motion having been carried by acclamation,

The Rev. DANIEL TUCKED. moved that Earl
Russell be appointed president of the society in
succession to the late Duke of Bedford.

The motion having been seconded was unanimously
adopted.
Earl RUSSELL in returning thanks said—l address
you on this occasion with mingled feelings of pain
and pride—of pain because the resolution which you
have just adopted refers to the loss of a brother with
whom I was from childhood entwined in affection,
and from whom to his last moments I received the
utmost and kindest indulgence. At the same time
it is a matter of pride to me that I have been asked
to assume the presidency of a society in which
another relation of mine—my father—laboured for
fifty-six years, in founding the institution and pro-
moting its prosperity. You will permit me on this
occasion to refer in some degree to that which has
lately occupied attention—the assistance given by
the state to public education in this country, to the
mode in which it has been given, and to the changes
which may be required in it. Ido not wish to enter
upon matters of controversy, but having been silent
on this subject, and having seen the efforts which you
made misrepresented, and certainly very hardly
treated in many publications, I may state both what
I consider has been done, and what yet remains to be
done. It is twenty-three years since, in 1839,
that, holding the office of Home Secretary, and
looking to the reports made from the gaols by
the chaplains and others entrusted with their ma-
nagement, and looking likewise to the general state
of the country, it seemed to me that the aid given
by the State to education should not be confined to
the £lO,OOO which was given to each society under
the suggestion of Lord Brougham, but that a fur-

ther effort should be made to improve and extend
the education of the poorer classes. With that view
I put myself in communication with a noble friend
who took a leading part in the eouncils of this coun-
try for half a century, and who still lives in the en-
joyment of the respect of his country—Lord Lans-
downe. (Cheers.) To him I suggested that there
should be a committee of the Privy Council specially
appointed to superintend the education of the coun-
try. He corrected, very judiciously, that suggestion
by proposing that we should confine the efforts of
the committee to the application of the sum annu-
ally voted by Parliament for that purpose. The mat-
ter being arranged in that shape he undertook to be
president of the council. We very soon obtained the
assistance of another friend of mine, whom I am
happy to see on this platform—Sir I. Kay Shuttle-
worth. I must say it i 2 altogether to his untiring
exertions, to his application, never to be diverted,
•
to his valuable suggestions, that we o‘ve the success
ful working of the scheme. (Cheers.) We had vari-
ous objects in view, some of which I will mention,
in regard to which we have been blessed with no
small success. Ourjirst object was to improve the
quality of the education of the masses; although
from 1808 to 1811 this society and the National
Society had been labouring for that object, yet I
will say the suggestions of my friend, considered
and adopted by the e:,mmittee of council after much
coneideration, tended greatly to improve the quality
of education. I will mention only one instance—

it was a valuable improvement on the o'‘d mode
of education that when the schools were large
some of the more advanced pupils should be em-
ployed es monitors ; but it was an immense improve-
ment that pupil teachers should be so engaged—
(cheers)—that they should, instead of coming un-
taught to thair work, have the benefit of the special
instruction of the schoolmaster, and be daily so en-
gaged. I mention this as one instance—l could
mention a dozen, by which large openings were
made in the systems and instruction of a better
quality imparted to the children in attendance on
our schoola. (Haar.) To show you the state of
opinion which prevailed upon this point, I will men_
tion to you that a bishop of the church stated that
there 17 s no me in teaching children geography,
unless it was the geography of the Holy Land.
(Laughter.) As I wish to be impartial I may acid
that the sc;hoolm7srer of ibis very school told me
that an aminent dissenter came here one clay and
oh yet. 4 to the children being taught geography at
all; that shows you what '.as the state of opinion
on this subject some Tears ego, and I ask 3,•0u to
cont:ast it with what was witnessed by
attended the examination this•all who
day. In another
respect too we were successful—men of great emi-
'nence and talent had endeavoured to improve the
education of the ccuotry—amongst them Mr. Whi-
bred and Lord Brougham, but they failed, owing to
this, that it was impossible to allay the suspicion of
the church on the one side and dissent onthe other.
The church thought that all children should be
taught the catec)ism ; the dissenters felt that that
would be a violation of conscience, and Would not
submit to at. After considering the matter we de-
spaired of reconciling two opinions, but we solved