The Sun.
London, England, 1862-03-26 00:00:00

LUTIONS.

Mr. WALPOLE moved " That this house will imme-
diately resolve itself into a committee to consider the best
mode of distributing the Parliamentary grants for educa-
tion now administered by the Privy Council." After some
preliminary observations, the right hon. gentleman said
that he did not propose to endeavour to have
the Revised Code rejected, but he thought that
it must undergo very extensive alteration before it
could be palatable to the Parliament or the country. He
said that the right hon. gentleman (Mr. Lowe) completely
underestimated the feeling of the country when he con-
sidered there was any • apathy on the part of the public
in reference to the question, for the innovation
in the existing system which it was proposed to introduce
in this code excited the greatest interest amongst all classes.
He argued that all education, to be truly valuable, must be
based on religious training—(hear, hear)—and that was the
general conviction of the community. They must
remember that the system which it was now proposed
to supersede had been in operation since 1853, and had
given considerable satisfaction. They must combine eco..
nomy with efficiency to render any system perfect, and still
the right hon. gentleman (Mr. Lowe) said he would secure
one or the other, and not both. In fact, the Government
could not state what would be the positive results which
would flow from the proposition they presented to the
house. (Hear, hear, from the Opposition benches.) He
alluded to the report of the commission on this subject, for
the constitution of which he expressed the greatest respect ;
but he said that report spoke in high terms of the fact that
the voluntary principle had been enlisted in behalf of the
existing system ; yet, he contended, the effect of the alteration
proposed would be, in its present form, to discourage the
efforts of the voluntary principle in reference to the Go-
vernment scheme of education. He referred also to the
opinion expressed by the commission in regard to the merits
of pupil teachers, the discipline, and the religious element
in the existing system. The commissioners were all agreed
that education had not sufficiently reached the lower classes,
and that the removal of the children at too early an age,
before they could acquire a sufficient amount of elementary
education, was most disadvantageous. They were also
agreed that not more than one-fourth of the children received
mar e than an imperfect knowledge of reading, writing, and
arithmetic in the Government schools, But how was it
proposed to remedy the evil ? In the first place the masters
were to be increased, but their standard of qualification was i
to be lowered. He said that they ought to test in
the most careful manner the results of a system
that hitherto worked comparatively well. By that system
he contended that according tothe showing of the commis-
sioners themselves in their report not only were secular
results obtained, but also moral results by making the Go-
vernMent grants pass through the enthusiasm of religious
bodies. They said in that report the effect of these schools
was greater in a religious than even in s.n„intellectual point
of view. He denied that the mode proposed by Govern-
ment of testing the results of a system merely by the an.
swers given in three elementary matters was fallacious, for
frequently a ntunber ot children might haveleft these schools
before the day of examination arrived, or they might be
subjected to depressing influences, which would prevent
their answering satisfactorily. He cited the authority of
Sir James Shuttleworth in support of his arguments on
the point, and argued that it was quite impossible to arrive
at a correct conclusion as to the state of elementary educa-
tion founded on an examination on a specific day of a limited
number of pupils. He had received an inundation of letters
from the clergy and laity, and persons of all shades of po-
litical opinion on the subject of his resolutions, and only
one of these was in favour of the Revised Code. He read
extracts from some of these letters, He said his right hon.
friend Mr. Lowe rested his case on two passages in the report
of the commission. (These were the passages in which the
commissioners stated that in several cases children did not
obtain a knowledge of reading, writing, and arithmetic, and
that only one-fourth of the boys in the schools at-
tained to more than an imperfect education.)
The teachers differed from the inspectors, and Govern-
ment should have come forward with a system based on
such inquiry, and he would then have discharged his duty
nobly. The defects of the scheme, as stated by the com-
missioners, were that education had not sufficiently reached
some of the poorer and neglected classes ; that the early re-
moval of the children from school before their instruction
in elementary subjects was completed, and the irregularity
of their attendance, were most disadvantageous to them,
and that the junior classes of the schools were not suffici-
ently attended to; that in the masters there was no want
of power, but want of motive to attend to them; that edu-
cation in the three elementary subjects of reading, writing,
and arithmetic was therefore completely neglected ; and
that one-fourth only of the children educated arrived at a
tolerably perfect knowledge of these three subjects. Here,
then, he was at issue with the Committee of Council. The
Vice-President of Council said these defects could only be
remedied by testing results in the manner provided by the
Revised Codes ; and that there was a costliness and cumber-
someness in the machinery that must be swept away and
everything turned into a capitation grant. In both these
respects, however, he contended that the Revised Code
would not only not accomplish the objects which Parliament
and the country had in view in promoting the education of
the poor, but would form a serious impediment thereto. It
would not test results even in the three matters of reading,
writing, and arithmetic ; it would do so only in the case of
a limited number of scholars, who would appear on a cer-
tain day, and be necessarily subject to all kinds of accidents
and contingencies. And even in this case it would not test
the least important results fairly and fully, whilst, with re-
gard to the great majority of the children in schools, the
results would not be tested at all. He entreatedthe Govern-
ment therefore to reconsider the subject so far as not to make
the whole of their grant depend upon the single examina-
tion of each separate child without taking into account any
other circumstances. As to the simplification of the ma-
chinery by which education was to bo carried on, it was
high time to look into the expenditure with a view to eco-
nomy, whilst not neglecting efficiency ; but he agreed that
it could not be put under one central authority or worked
without local agency. In the attempt to economise, then
let them take care that they did not unduly increase the,
liability of the managers, and strike at the root of that por-
tion of the system which had been most successful, in such
a manner as to run the risk of subverting it altogether. This
would be to commit an injustice, and to break faith with the
managers. The right hon. gentleman also condemned the
code as calculated to undermine and destroy the system of
pupil-teaching; and, adverting to his own resolutions,
called upon the house to negative the idea that the whole
amount of the aid given by the Government should depend
on the individual examination of each child in reading,
writing, and arithmetic ; that the system of grouping by age
for the purpose of examination should be continued ; that
when once the children had passed from the highest class
of examination, they should be entitled to no further por-
tion of the Parliamentary grant ; and that the non-exami-
nation age should not be extended from six to seven years,
After remarking that it was for the executive to propose
affirmative resolutions, and commenting upon the uncon-
stitutional character of the proceedings of the Committee
of Council in taking upon themselves legislative functions
in the preparation of the Revised Code, the right hon. gen-
tleman concluded by moving that the house should go into
committee, with a view of framing a measure that would
bo more satisfactory to both Parliament and the country.
Sir G. GREY assured the right hon. gentleman that
the Government were perfectly ready to accede to his mo-
tion to go into committee. Some time ago his noble friend
the First Minister of the Crown announced the intention
of the Government to take that step. The right honourable
gentleman said he might have formed resolutions con-
demnatory altogether of the`principles and details of
the Revised Code ; but if the right hon. gentleman had
taken that course, then be (Sir George Grey) thought it
would have been the duty of the Government to havo re-
sisted the motion for going into committee without having
previously taken the opinion of the house as to whether the
views of the right hon. gentleman would be sanctioned by
them. As the right hon. gentleman stated that he assented
to the two main principles of the Revised Code, it would be
obviously inconvenient that they should enter into the de-
tails till the house went into committee, when those details
could be considered. The right hon. gentleman assumed
that'this was analogous to the second reading of a bill upon
which we were going into committee ; but if that were so it
was a pity that the right hon. gentleman had not put noon
the paper, in the way of notice, the exact terms of the
amendment. Ho would advise the house to adopt instead
a series of resolutions merely negativing the motions which
are embodied in the Revised Code. The right hon. gentle-
man should have been prepared to state to what extent he
thought the principle of testing by results should be car-
ried,
Government a s hhe approved
carried
it
of
tooth f
e ar.h
l principle,e
rightwhile
honcontending.
gentleman
that
should have pointed out remedies for the defeats which he
suggested. These education votes had increased from
£20,000 in 1833 to £BOO,OOO in 1862, and no one could see
where they were likely to stop, for the regulations under
osi
nv en increase. etz: . e
xTt
ehnots et
owwhho i
cwhe rteh
ebsees tvaobt
el
se
which the moneys were administered were of a nature to
see that tho more (maim, 0 expenditure was one
aanproopg7ineis.
tdoi
mightci formn otg
go differed to the extent of several millions. But he
lead to