The Sun.
London, England, 1860-08-20 00:00:00

Brompton stowed away in those ridiculous Boilers
—they are not where they ought to be peculiarly,
namely, under the rooftree of our " National Gal-
lery !" The masterpieces of TURNER, of HOGARTII, of
REYNOLDS, of CONSTABLE, of LESLIE, and of their
many illustrious compatriots, ought assuredly
on the face of it to find a permanent resting place
upon the walls of England's " National Gallery,"
more particularly those
" Whate'er LORRAINE light-touched, with softening hue,
Or SAVAGE Ross, dashed, or learned PousslN drew !"
The accomplishment of this reaccumulation,
under one roof, of our now widely scattered and
still more and more widely scattering art treasures
—we may confidently assert once more to be (like
our eventual disposal of the Royal Academy in
regard to its whereabouts) merely a ques-
tion of time and convenience. Meanwhile, no
rational observer—not even the most cheese-
paring economist—will, upon mature reflection, can,
after a deliberate examination of the facts here re-
ferred to, seriously object to the outlay of the
£15,000 voted on Saturday by the House of Com:
mons, when in Committee of Supply, for the im-
mediate increase of accommodation within the
walls of the National Gallery even as it now
stands.

The subject of National Education, which was
brought under discussion in the House of Com-
mons on Tuesday night, is one of great in-
terest as well as considerable importance. The
training of our present youth must affect the
future of the State, and the conflicting and
contradictory opinions which able and con-
scientious men entertain on the subject in-
vests it with some perplexity. The religious
aspects of the case are among the chief obstacles to
the establishment of a national system. Members of
every church or denomination too frequently seem
to consider that it is better to have no education
whatever than to be brought up in the tenets of a
rival sect. But notwithstanding all obstacles
the diffusion of knowledge is on the increase,
as is proved by the following statistics, which we
quote from Mr. LOWE'S speech on the question :
" Daring the first year the number of schools
inspected by inspectors was increased by
171 ; the number of children was in-
creased by 58,357 ; the number of pupil
teachers by 1,200 ; certificated students by 990 ;
students in training by 85; children upon whom
capitation grants were paid, by 52,199: No less

than 247 new school-houses were built, with 178
dwellings for teachers, and there were 230 other
schools enlarged and accommodation created for
58,000 children. The number of children found
by the inspectors to be in the course of educa-
tion in the schools during the present year was
880,131, being rather more than 58,000 more
than the number last year, which was 821,744."
Still, that there is yet ample room for improvement
is shown by the statements made by Mr. HENLEY
relative to the number of the poorer class who made
their mark instead of signing their names in the

marriage register.
Sir JOHN PAKINGTON'S motion is deserving of
the attention of all interested in this movement.
The right hon. baronet, who has always been a
sincere and consistent friend to the cause of national
education, called the attention of the House to the
amount of Government assistance afforded to
ragged schools. The value of these schools to the
class who are most in need of aid and instruction is
incontestible. They supply a want long felt by
the wellwishers of the people—a means of reaching
the lowest and most destitute classes, and of giving
them the best of all charity, by helping them to
help themselves. To bring in from the courts and
thoroughfares of the metropolis the band of ragged
and idle little urchins, who have no better or
more profitable employment than turning sum-
mersaults in the road, or tossing halfpence
on the pavement, to teach them the means of earn-
ing an honest livelihood, and to inculcate the broad
principles of honesty and morality and religion, is
surely an undertaking eminently deserving of every
encouragement on the part of those in authority.
The Government would have to bear the expense
of the prosecution and maintenance of many of
these neglected children, were they left to the
training of the streets and the evil influences
around them. Why then should they hesitate to
appropriate a large share of the educational grants
for the far more satisfactory expenditure of prevention
instead of punishment ? As Sir JOHN PAKINGTON
truly observed, "The Government were unwilling

to give the shilling to support ragged schools; but
they were perfectly ready to advance the pound for
the expense of prosecuting those who had been led
into crime simply from having been driven out
upon the highway without education and without
friends." The minute of 1856 was very favourable
to these schools, and it appears that the complaint
made by their founders and promoters is that it has
been repealed, and another of much less liberal
character substituted. According to the minute of
1856 allowance was made for half the rent of the
schools, a third of the cost of tools and raw mate-
rials, half the salaries of the master and assistant-
masters, and a capitation of 50s. for every scholar
who attended regularly. This has been found

too costly, owing, according to the member

for Droitwich, to the expense of the item for the
maintenance of scholars, and also to the fact of the
grants having been extended to refuges and other
places not properly coming under the denomination
of ragged schools. The minute which replaced the
one of 1856 only allowed half the rent of the pre-
mises and 5 shillings per annum for the scholars
according to the average number. A short time
since a memorandum was presented to the Govern-
ment, signed by more than 100 gentlemen, who
have been among the foremost friends of the ragged
school system. They stated that voluntary contri-
butions not being sufficient, these schools ought
not to be excluded from the national grant.
Among their claims to support they justly said that
the Parliamentary grant being intended to assist
voluntary effort, no schools in the kingdom had a
stronger plea, for in none had there been a greater
amount of voluntary effort exhibited. We cannot
but think that Mr. LowE's arguments, in opposi-
tion to the amendment, were most unsound. He
asserted that the amendment, if carried, would have
the effect of dragging down education, and that

if people found they could get more money by
calling schools ragged, a rush would be made

to Government for larger aid by that means.
The answer is at once apparent, namely, that the
respectable class of artizans and small tradespeople
would object to sending their children to a ragged
school. Mr. LowE forgot the sturdy independence
and self-respect of the English character, no less a
characteristic of the peasant than the peer, when
he made that assertion. The same feeling that
keeps many half-starving in wretched garrets rather
than go into " the house," would prevent the
class above them from sinking to their level. Again,
those whe would be compelled to give their child-
ren some kind of education before they could ap-
prentice them or teach them a trade are less sub-
jects for Government interference. The youth of
such classes will gain mental instruction and learn

moral restraint whether the State give it them or
no. It is the wandering tribe who recruit our jails
and workhouses, our hulks and hospitals, who