The Sun.
London, England, 1869-08-20 00:00:00

THE SOCIAL SCIENCE PROGRAMME.

It has often been remarked that the line of sepa-
..tion between science and social science is exceed-
ingly ill-defined, and that it is impossible to say
where the one ends and the other begins. This
year, however, the two subjects are quite distinct.
At the forthcoming " Congress" of the Sociologists,
which is to be held in Bristol during the week
beginning September 29th, the subjects to be dis-
cussed are as unquestionably " social" as they are
important. Thus the Muncipal Law Section will
consider the legal and constitutional relations
between England and her colonies ; the best mode of
introducing a system of public prosecution, and the
limits which ought to be placed by law upon
charitable endowments. The Reformatory Section
will discuss legislation against infanticide, and the
Industrial and Reformatory Acts of 186 G. The
Education Department will have before it subjects
of the greatest interest and the highest importance;
such as the incompatibility of an unsectarian
scheme of education with religious teaching, the
promotion of the education of the destitute by the
State, and the mode of bringing educational endow-
ments within; the reach of all. At least of
equal importance are the topics set down for the
Health Department. They are put in the form of
queries. " Can Government beneficially ?
further,
interfere to limit the spread of Infectious Diseases "
" What Legislative Measures might be proposed to
deal with Cases of Uncontrollable Drunkenness '?"
" Should the Contagious Diseases Act be extended
to the Civil Population ?" The Economy and Trade
department will take under consideration the desira-
bibility of giving State aid to emigration, the im-
provement of the administration of the poor law,
and amelioration of the condition of the agricultural
labourer. The sociologists have their work cut ont
for them.

BIRMINGHAM AND THE EDUCATION QUESTION.
The clergy of Birmingham do not at all like the
idea of free and rate-supported schools. I\ early the
whole or them, together with a considerable number
of laymen, have had a meeting to denounce the
Innovation. They say that such schools would
inevitably supersede the present voluntary system ;
which is rather a strange argument from the
ministers of a State and rate supported Church. It
does, in fact, prove nothing, unless it proves that the
present voluntary school system has supplied all the
educational wants of the community. The opponents
of the new system object to it further,
because it is unjust to throw upon local
rates a burden which, if imposed at all, should be
borne by the whole income of the county. This is,
perhaps, sound political economy, bunt it would
remove the control of the schools entirely from the
hands of the clergy—a contingency which they
scarcely desire. Moreover, educatien is a good
investment, and if more of the rates were spent on
schoolmasters, less would be spent upon gaolers.
To do the Birmingham clergy justice, they do not
content themselves with merely protesting. They
do not like one &Theme but they are prepared with
another. They would meet the case of those who
are too poor to pay school-fees by empowering the
Town Council to grant free tickets, paid for out of
a penny rate (so that, after all, they do accept the
rating principle). They would meet the religious.
difficulty by a conscience clause which should pre-
serve the freedom of the managers at the same time
that it exempted from the religious lesson
the children of those who objected to
it They would have larger local grants
for Poor districts made out of the imperial