The Sun.
London, England, 1834-04-17 00:00:00

EDUCATION.

The LORD CHANCELLOR, in moving fora
subject ofgreat importance—well worthy the attention of
returns oil
their Lordships—returns which, on the motion of a noble
friend of his, had already been laid on the table of the
other house of parliament—should take that opportunit7 of
making a few observations on the state of education;
whigh, in addition to being of itself a subject of consider-
able importance, was not unconnected m•ith the subject
which Which had just been mentioned to their lordships.
course of the last summer' 941
ill
• L‘. half in an unfriendly
s ad been
made upon him, half in a frien,_.
ropriety
e and to parish
manner, as to his present feelings with
of renewing the bill which he had introduces schools, and with regard to his opinions as rtog
the
Rnto the
other House of Parliament about fourteen years .'g?
These observations were occasioned by the belief. tha!
he had hesitated in his course—he had done so, as.;
he should now state the reason why he hesitated, before he
introduced a proposition for the renewal of that bill, which
was in its objects the same as that which had been intro-
duced in the reign of Charles 1., and afterwards in the
reign of King illiam—bills which were greatly for the
advantage of the people of Scotland. There was, it should
be observed, nothing more different than the situation of
Scotland at that moment and England at the present day ;
although he knew it was thotight; but thought most erro-
, neausly, that, as a matter of coutSO( whoever was a friend
of the education of the people ought t a friend of that
particular measure. In Scotland, at than time,
there
were no schools, and, consequently, the foes. 6'l
that could be done was to plant schools throughoL:
the country. Nothing could be safer or more advan-
tageous. But if they were to follow the same plan
here, under different circumstances, the benefit might not
be equally great. And if with schools they were to intro-
duce school-rates (of which they had nothing in Scotland),
they might find it even still less beneficial. In England
we had had experience of schools, in Scotland at that time
they had had no such experience ; so that if schools were
now to be introduced here by the Legislature, where they
had already existed, without any orders or aid from the
legislature, and if with schools school-rates Were intro.,
duced, they
.might put an end to voluntary eindribritionl
for such a purpose. Great zeal had hitherto been shoWn
in the cause of education by individuals ; but that ital
might afterwards relax, and great, indeed, would probabll
be the difference, if men who now contributed voluntarily
one (lay were to be called on the following day by a col-
lector for a sum to be paid by him to the State for the
same purpose. While he said this, however, he was ready
to admit, on the other hand, that these voluntary payments
were not sufficient ; he had never said that they were; no,
never, even when he was accused of abstaining from pressing
forward a matter which he had formerly so much befriended:
At the same time, however, that he then admitted thb risk
of attempting to do too much, he must acknowledge thA
there was risk in doing nothing. There was a great and
lamentable deficiency of the means of education, pa.Lticularly
in the great towns • more, indeed, than in the villab's•etst
He was satisfied of tile increase in the means of education
that had taken place since 1828. Before that time the
dissenters had objected to parochial schools, on the ground
that they were excluded from the benefit of them by the
operation of the Test and Corporation Acts. His state-
ments made upon this subject had been denied. He had
taken 700 or 800 parishes at random, and had written cir-
culars to the clergymen of these parishes, requesting infor-
mation as to the state o their parochial se °els. He had
received answers from 500 of them, and the result was,
that the increase in the number of schools had been in the
proportion of 14 to 28, and in that of scholars of 14 to 32
in other words, that where there had been 14,000 schools;
there were now 28,000, and that this increase had taken
place in the number of day-schools, which were the best
sort of schools, on account of their regularity of attendance,
and the discipline that could be kept up in them, when if
could not be kept up in Sunday schools. He had no sooner
made this statement than it was violently attacked ; the
increase he had stated was incorrect, and it was alleged that
his calculations must be defective, as it had only been made
upon 500 parishes out of all the parishes in England. He
thought it would have been a miracle if his calculation,
founded as it was upon an average, had been correct. He
made no answer at the time, but he waited for those returns
which his noble friend Lord Kerry had moved for, and
which had just been laid upon the table of the House of
Commons. These returns showed the results in two dif.
ferent districts—in 1818, at the time when the educaticn
committee made their returns, and in 1834, when the pre-
sent returns had been moved for and obtained. The first of
these districts was agricultural—it was the county of Bed-
ford ; and the other was commercial and manufacturing--
it was the great, populous, and important town of Man-
chester. The returns relating to the county 'of Bedford
showed that in 1818 there were 136 day-schools ; in the
same county there were now `244; so that his average had
not been inaccurate, although these critics had reprea
sented it to be so ; and that the number of scholars had
been 3,980, and the number was now s,632—this was
an increase in the proportion of five to three. This calcu-
lation had been made upon day-schools alone, but, in-
cluding Sunday schools, the difference was still greater, for
the number.of scholars in both had been, in 1818, 4,738,
and was now 15,234—showing an increase of more than
three to one. He was, therefore, fully justified in saving
that the average showed an increase of two to one. Now
as to Manchester. This increase was as much greater in
proportion as it had been upon both sorts of schools in Bed.'
fordshire. Not including
.Salford and the other townships
there were in Manchester in 1818, but fifteen day-schools,
attended by 2,623 children. At present there were 216
schools, attended by 10,000 children and odd—so that the
increase was considerably more than four to one in the day
schools alone. He did not know that all the other manu-
facturing towns had increased in the like manner, in the
same number of their schools as the great, populous., and
wealthy town of Manchester, but if they had increased in
anything like the same proportion, instead of overrating
their number he had underrated it, for he might say that
the increase was in the proportion of sixteen to seven. The
Sunday schools had increased in the same proportion in'
Manchester and in Bedfordshire, for in 1818 the number
of scholars at schools of both sorts amounted but to 8,000,
whereas in 1833, the number reached as high as 24,400.
The risk, therefore, of converting voluntary support into
compulsory maintenance of these schools, did appear to him
considerable, when he observed the great effect which vo-
luntary exertions had already produced in the increase of
the amount of education. Certainly he should be the last
person in the world to advise any -such change, without
further inquiry and deliberation. He knew the injury
that might be done by it. They might plant schools—.
they might water the plant by compulsory rates, but it did
not follow that such plants would take root--he meant
that people. would send their children to schools to be
taught when the schools were created or maintained by
such means. It was undoubted that people in this country
would not always send their children to school when they
had the means of doing it. He had heard that it was not
so in Ireland—he was sure that it was not so in Scotland—.
but in Scotland there was another difference, for there the
people objected to send their children to schools where
they paid nothing for the education of those children, as
they did not like their education to be entirely gratuitous,
anti he believed that it was all the better for them that
they should entertain such a feeling. He was perfectly
satisfied of the advantage of this voluntary principle. He
knew that where it was called into operation, this
benefit happened; that not only were schools insti-
tuted, but that the persons who instituted them
took care, to interest themselves with the parents
to get the children sent to school ; and that this was not
only of advantage with respect to the education thus
• afforded, but it facilitated an amicable intercourse between
different classes of persons, that must be of advantage in a
social point of view. But at the same time, as voluntary
efforts could not do every thing, he thought it would be
good to give them sonic assistance, in order to overcome
the first impediments in the way of success. That plan
had been pursued at the recommendation of the other
House of Parliament, by which a vote of 20,0001. had
been passed to assist in erecting schoolhouses ; but with
this regulation, that the money should only be given to
such persons as had already subscribed a portion them-
selves, and as were willing to give security to repay the
money advanced. In his belief no money had ever been
ru same
.bey
00,00,
butOL
a more
s timui to
us be
to expendedit, in the manner.better employed. He was happy to add that Parliament,
with equal wisdom and liberality, had lately passed a vote
of 2.
This would not be a discouragementwas to voluntary contri-
bution,
that not less than 40,000/. had been voluntarily sub-
scribed by those who had asked for this assistance. By
these aids they had called into operation the means of af-
fording excellent education to thirty thousand children,
being an amount of education equal' to a gross population
of two hundred thousand persons. As it was not all gold
the
fact
that glistened, so it was not the mere institution of schools
that proved the amount of education—it was not the num-
. ber of children that might darken the doors of a public
school, nor flock around its forms, nor buz within its walls
day by day, that proved the amount of education aff,rded,
for notwithstanding all this they might yet be taught so
little that it could hardly, be said that they were inpe
in mind snore than by keeping them out of harm s way.
t That was perhaps as much to the want of weans of
au improved system of education, as to; any other eau,.