The Sun.
London, England, 1847-04-21 00:00:00

ROUSE OF COMMONS, April 20.

ADJOURNED DEBATE.
On the motion for the House resolving
Committee of Supply, are
Mr. E WART rose, and in moving that in any eleal.i.,
for general education, it is expedient that school/00.1'o
and inspectors be not made the instruments of religT,,d
instruction, but that such religious instruction be supk_leivei
by the clergy of the different denominations, to Yv"the
every facility for imparting it should be giver'
i 111
de-
several schools; also, that it itself into a
is extreme. hat
s
sirable in any general education scheme'. . bodies
local representative system, by means of district
6cll°° re
stui-
aanddepttherdo:ugthhattheitinsistrunmetendtaelsiitryaohfleantheadrationiraatest,ehres
should receive retiring pensions (or occasional gr
..
ties) from the Government : that appointments and
_7.
Government be not reserved (as proposed in the 0.1,`.,
nutes) for unsuccessful candidates for exhibitions 1"
the Normal Schools alone ; but be thrown
open to general free competition, on the principle
of impartial examination—said that he was desirous
of approaching this subject with a calmness peopro-
tionate to its importance, and to the degree of excite-
ment which it had created throughout the country.
There was, in his opinion, no question which required a
degree of deliberation equal to that which should be de-
voted to the subject of education, and he trusted that.
whatever might be thethbsoeesnsettiwmfheoonrt on this most Taal
question, those who were the sincere friends of educa-
tioncalmlyanodf I dispassionately consider
would
Htheatwawshhiicmhselwf
aogn e the
of f
firm and ardent supporter
cation.si The plan evidently affected the system of Perlii
rating, and if it were to be carried ut eti
, that w i,
certainly be by far the better mode to d t• T'e
a system
mtandoe
ralcNwomaainisoonbnaelegni:dt°dhi!.
a op •
same system existed in Franc and
certain extent r
used in the direction of the gramme
sbcehools in this country. But be it good, of
it bad, M. Guizot badadopted 't (Ifear",ti
i
in the Government schemes of the country whichlas he bad
directed, and the whole of the system for education there
was more or less founded on the representative system.
and
The same principle prevailed more or less in Holl !
Germany, and America, and he trusted that
ultimately be used in this country. He had not, without
much deliberation and hesitation, come to this opinion, but
he believed that the Government ought to have embodied !
more general principle in the plan which they has
it would
adopted, than any which had been propounded in the
present debate. He had always felt that it was the dull
of Government to assist, but not to interfere—to inter'
pose, if he might use so refined a distinction, but not to
interfere. In this point, therefore, the Government pro.
jaencdt we
ia t
hs e defective.rwayit fletll dsihd toertoo
fmuchits
o tsoh
jeret.t_oo(Hleiattrl.e),
sbaf
d thought
national
nsayls system of
tosf
eebdaurcsartsiel;
Ishould the
bnee next
purelypl
a 49 he l
iE n g
They could not impart exotic systems like that adopted
by the Prussian Government. Let recollect
them
that they were legislating for England, tioe
t
for continental countries. He would have
' th
ould have f
Government, as it were, form the nucleus of a systesysteme
national education, and would leave the agencies of the
people free and uncontrolled. He would call out their
energies as much as possible, and leave them entirelY
free floe
; and, lastly, that the Government should l
11-iterfere in matters of opinion ; and, least 0
all, should it interfere in matters of religiousf
opinions. Ho thought that in encouraging a system o
education it should rather people the mea,as of
give the with
forming opinions; than endeavour to supply them
religious or educational opinions of any kind whatever.
He should, therefore, proceed to deal with the Govern'
ment plan, and to consider how far it accorded
e
with these principles. The essential ingredients of the
measure were the introduction of pupil-teachers, stiPen:
diary monitors, and provision for aged schoolmasters
This was the leading element or skeleton of the
the
measure. It was said that this would endow
es
Government and the Church with a degrie.
of control over the education of the peep
5,
Now, he had maturely considered the schen.° t
and he did not think that the objections made agautre
this portion of the plan were justified by the facts of 13. _
case; because he did not see how the Sta.r,7,
could unduly control the pupil teachers, et:.
pendiary monitors; or normal schoolmasters.:
elected from the pupil-teachers who became the nlsll
gers of the schools, who would be intrusted with the disci
tribution of the grants, and not the State would have :le_
appointment of there. Then again, he did not is:
how the Church could interfere with the 5011(Wiiii i„
because the instruction and support of ,* I,
same schools would be in the hands of other persons ilia
..
those connected with the Established Church, so ttr,..t.
the Church could not interfere with the system Church.eat
cation pursued in dissenting schools. The
larger.
it was true, might come in far a
ey uld
share of the sum voted, but that no.
be an incidental circumstance if it occurred.
_....,A
confessed he wished that the distribution
be more equal, but he fOlogia OW Pit