The Sun.
London, England, 1847-04-17 00:00:00

THE GOVERNMENT SCHEME OF

ED UCATION.

A numerously attended meeting of the friends and
supporters of this measure was held yesterday afternoon
at the London Tavern; the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor
to the chair. The platform was filled with several Pre-
lates of the Church of England, merchants, and other
.gentlemen.
The CHAIRMAN said that he took the chair with great
pleasure, a most respectable deputation having solicited
him to preside and to lend his assistance to that impor-
tant question, which would be shortly discussed by per-
sons more competent than he was to do justice to its
merits. As chief magistrate he thought it was his duty
to give them all the assistance in his power to the best of
his abilities. He believed that it was agreed upon all
hands that the state of education in this country was
lamentably deficient, and therefore steps had been taken
by Government to afford increased education to the great
mass of their fell Ow-subjects. It was a matter of sur-
prise to him to find that when the want of efficient edu-
cation in this country was admitted by all classes of
persons, that still a strong opposition should be given to
the present measure of Government, the principle cf
which had formerly been approved of. He must say
that he was at a loss to understand that, more particu-
cularly as it arose from their friends the Dissenters, an
intelligent body, who generally commenced and fol-
lowed up good works. They might think that the
Church Establishment would possess under this measure,
too much patronage. He thought that was an unworthy
jealousy.—(Cheers, and " No, no.") Ile was glad to
hear some one say " No, no," because he thought it
would be a reflection on that body if they did not carry
,lut those views which they advocated from such motives.
He could not help thanking the Government for having
given them that assistance, and he trusted that those
who dissented from the Church would co-operate with
them in carrying out this measure.—(Hear, hear.) He
'regretted that he was not accustomed to public speaking,
that he might do more justice to the subject, and would
conclude by calling on the Bishop of London to move the
first resolution.—(Cheers.)
The Bishop of LONDON said that the resolution
which he should have the honour to propose was
couched in the following terms That the official re-
ports of the inspectors of schools, and of various associa-
tions, showed that a great deficiency existed in
elementary education, and that until means had been
taken to improve the quality, as well as the quantity of
elementary education, there would be little hopes
of amendment in the
_social and moral condition of the

community." He felt it his duty to come forward on
the present occasion and declare his sentiments on a
question of the most vital importance, not merely to that
Church in which he held office, but to the country at
large. He believed that an extensive system
of education was essential to the continuance or
rather the improvement of their moral character. He
could not consider this movement in any other character
than as a great moral reformation. This movement was
neither more nor less than this,—whether or not the tide
of knowledge, instead of faltering, should be allowed
altogether to be destroyed. The question was whether
it should be augmented or retarded, because, according
to the opinion of some, who considered that, however
beneficial it might be to the country at large, it might
be injurious to their sectarian interests, and that civili-
zation would be rolled back. He was not at present
speaking of this question in its religious aspect. It was
upon education that moral and social improvement de-
pended, and he would take the liberty of proving his
assertion of the connexion that existed between want of

instruction and moral depravity. There was, indeed, a
strong connexion between physical destitution and moral
depravity, and he was delighted to see the efforts that
were made by Government for the last few years to im
,prove the physical condition of the people, and he was
glad to see the present Government follow the example
of their predecessors in this particular, and take up the
point where they had left off.—(Hear, hear.)
In order to show the connexion that existed between
Ignorance and crime it would be neces-ary to
state some of the statistics on the subject. In 1841, there
were only 29 persons convicted who were instructed.
In the county of Middlesex it appeared that for two
years there was not one educated convict. By educated
he did not mean merely those who could read and write,
but who had received that instruction which developed
the faculties of the human mind, and which alone de-
served
the name of education. In 1846 more than 1.600
were committed to the House of Correction in Coldbath-
fields, only 53 of whom were tried at Middlesex Ses-
sions. That showed not merely the connexion of igno-
rance
and crime, but it also shows d the vast cost of
leaving the community uneducated. The cheapest ex-
periment they could try would be to educate the people.
If one-tenth part of the money that had been spent up .n
the erection of prisons, in transportation, and up, n
hulks, had been laid out upon crimit.ali when young,
what a difference would he se( n in the serial state of the
country at present. In Middlesex, during 31 months,
only 23 ',eery young.,boys were in custody. From 1836
to 1845 tt:e number of persons charged gieh crime
was 252,544, of whom 84,445 could not read
or write, 23,154 could read and write, and 22,154
had received a good education. From most authentic
accounts it was shown that where education had been
obtained the amount of crime was comparatively small,
but that where it did not exist it was with the greatest
.litficulty that obedience to the law was obtained. Then
it was clearly established that a close connexion existed
netween ignorance and depravity, and no further illus-
trations were required on this part of the subject. The
next point to be proved was, that there was a great de-
ficiency in the means of education. That such was the
case was admitted on all hands, for, after all the efforts
that had been made, there were at present from 800,000
to 1,000,000 persons in the country who were altogether
destitute of education. That a sixteenth of the popula-
tion should be in this condition was a great reproach to
the country. Me would here state that he thought it
was the duty of both Dissenters and the members of the
Church of England to educate their children in their
own belief, fur he did not mean to assert that Dissenting
education was less valuable than that conferrei by the
Church. He would not treSpass on their time, or he could
read several communications from the National Society
which spoke in the most deplorable terms of the vice
that exists in this country, the causes of which they
were quite unable to e,unteract. There were 2,000,000
children who were altogether without the means of pro-
curing a good education, and entirely exposed to the in-
fluence of a bad education. That brought him to the ques
lion as to what means were to be adopted to remedy that
evil. He must, even at the risk of exciting the displeasure
of some of those present, say a few words as to the
comparative claims of the Church of England and Dis-
senters as to education. It had been said for some time
that Dissenters were more in earnest on the question of
education.—(Hear, hear.) Let them now hear what he
was going to state. The schools first instituted in this
country for poor children were entirely Church schools.
After the establishment of this Christian society, in
1750, 5,000 children were educated in Church schools,
and up to 1758 more than 40,000 children had been
educated in the Church of England schools.
In the • middle of the last century, in justice
to the Dissenters, he must say, that they
mine into the field and afterwards availed them.
selves of Mr. Lancaster's scheme of education. But the
Church of England adopted the system of Dr. Bell,
which was considered superior, and both went on pari
passu. In 1813 the number of children in the national
schools was 400.000, in the Church of England schools in
1833 it was 40,048; in 1847, as far as he could recollect,
speaking of daily schools only, the number of children in the
Dissenters' schools was 70.000, and in those of the Church
of England, 957,000.—(Cheers.) They would _allow
-him, then, to ask them if Government desired to come
forward and to furnish them with a more liberal hand
with the means of education ; was the Church of Eng-
land not entitled to consideration in the subject ? it
might, indeed, be said that Government might have con-
fined itself to secular education, but Government well
knew that the Church would not accept any such scheme,
and they never would consent to deficient religious and '
secular education. They protested altogether against
the separation of religious and secular education, as the
fact was that it was their object to make the future con-
dition of the human being the whole object of education.
When that was not done education had failed to effect
its object, and it was owing to that circumstance
many evils existed at the present time. He did nut
mean that the education should be entirely religious, but
it must be taken as the foundation. Therefore, the
Government could not have proposed any scheme such
as that, as they could not leave out of their considera-
tion the Church of England, or forget it was the educator
of the people of this country. No doubt the Dissenters
were entitled also to consideration. If the one received
assistance from extraneous sources, so should the other.
That was the language of Government for some time,
and the Church agreed to accept assistance on these
conditions. The same assistance had been accepted by
the Dissenters from the public funds. No change was
now proposed in principle. It was merely proposed to
afford a larger amount to render the existing system
more effective. But the Dissenters now came forward,
and said they would have nothing at all, because the
Church would get the most. He expected that such
would be the case, and that the Church would get the
most, because she gave most.—(Cheers, and some dis-
sent) He dealt with facts. He should wish to know
why Government should withhold its aid because a small
section of the people might oppose with a veto. The Go-
vernment could not in any e,scheme they might
propose get rid of the agency of the Church.
—(A cry of " No, no.") If that gentleman
would hear the conclusion or his sentence he would find
that there was seldom anything to object to. The Go-
vernment could no more do without the Church in edu-
cation than they could do with the Dissenters. There
was one element very important to the consideration of
the subject, though upon that they did not stand,
namely, that the Church was an established institution,
and therefore entitled to consideration. Besides, it
had for 100 years been educating the people. The Go-
vernment scheme proposed a more efficient system of
inspection. (More disapprobation.) He understood
what that meant. —[A voice—" The Dissenters want
money without being looked after." Another voice in
the body of the room—" We want no money."] He
would wish to know from that gentleman, who threw
money to the dogs, what they could without it do to
educate that million of children? He would ask that
gentleman, or rather those gentlemen who dissented
from his obserratiOnst bow it Wm) that, if they
4 virauted