The Sun.
London, England, 1857-02-19 00:00:00

EDUCATION.

Sir J. PAKINGTON then rose to move for leave to
bring in a bill to promote education in cities and towns.
He said—l rise once more to request the permission of
the Douse to introduce a bill to give increased facilities
for the extension of popuhr education. It is not my in.
tention to trespass upon the time of the house at any
considerable lengtb, and I am the less disposed to do so
because I am sorry to observe that, in consequence of
the unexpected termination of the dinu-sion of the bill
which has occupied a good deal of attention this morn-
ing, many of those gentlemen who I knew were anxious
to take a part in the discussion of my motion, if discus.
sion there shall be, or who, at all events, would have

taken great interest in the subject, have left the house.
The first explanation which I desire to offer to the
house is, that this bill has been so drawn as not to
ountravene or reverse the decisions at which this
house arrived last year upon the resolutions moved by
the noble lord the member for the city of London. I
not now advert, for I have done so on previous occa-
sions, to the rather peculiar circumstances under which
the house divided upon these resolutions. All. that I
now wish,to say is this, that putting a Parliamentary
construction upon the negativing them by a large majo-
rity, the decision of last year amounted to this, that the
house disapproved the plan of the noble lord considered
as a whole. That plan was compulsory and general. I
have therefore drawn the bill which I seek to introduce
in such a manner as to make it, in two most important
respects, the exact reverse of the plan of the noble lord.
I propose a permissive instead of a compulsory, and a
local instead of a general, system of education. lam
upon
important of the objections to permissive legislation
important subjects. I entirely agree with the noble l,rd
the member for the city of London in thinking that a
compulsory and genera) system of education would be
far more satisfactory and beneficial than that which I
propose; but when I find that great doubts are enter-
tained by many people whose opinions aro entitled to
great respect, as to the success of a compulsory system,
I think I have taken a part at once more prudent and
more respectful to the decisions of the house in proposing
a permissive rather than a compulsory plan. Entertain'
ing this opinion, I may naturally be allowed to inquire
what precedents we have with respect to permissive le-
gislation, and whether they are encouraging or otherwise.
There are two very interesting and recent•precedents of
that description. There is the act v, hich was passed by
the hon. member for Dumfries to permit corporate towns
to levy rates for the establ ehment of fibre; tog. We find
b. 5' a paper recently laid upon the table that that bill
has been taken advantage of in five or six remarkable
ee • I think the house will admit that to appeal to
the ratepayers of a town to establish a library for
the benefit of those who are already educated is not
to appeal to their interest or sense of duty to anything
like the extent of an appeal to 'them on behalf of those
who have never received any education whatever. I
shall he very well atisfied if the bill which I propose
shall be as successful as the
Libraries Act of my hon.
friend. The next pre
to which I shall refer is
still mere germane to thisubject.ect. I mean the act which
was passed some 16 or 17 years
ago, making it permit.-
si ve to English counties to adopt an improved system of
p ice. This act was a iiireot appeal ti the ratepayers
what an object
of counties to consent to tax themselves fk
adoptedw tahte re-
.act.
of vet y great public importance. And
s ult t Half of the counties of England
I thiok that both of the instances of permissive that
sive legisla-
tion to which I have referred are very encourag ng
propose that the hid Shall be local and not general in its
opera'ion, and that it shat: be applie I only to cities and
corporate towns. I have selected them because the bouu
ly defined
daries of their jurisdiction are &ear • There
will, -
will, therefore, be no occasion to in frit:Wee any new ma.
chinery for the purpose of defining the limits of the ape_
ration cf this bill I believe that there ere many persons
who entertain alarm r ,specting the op :rations of au
educational bill of a compulsory and general character,
bat al3° at;e °"'y desirou 4of trying a permissive pete
in suck cities and corporate towns as may choose to adopt
es. Ido not pretend to say that the necessity for the
plan which I propose is not as
great in rural districts ae
in corporate towns. (heer.) I believe that our sys ein of
national education is as defective in the rural districts as
in towns ; but we must bear in mind that it is in the latter
that a want of education works most evil. The state-
ments which I have made to the house on previous occa-
sions as to the necessity for an improvement in ours stern
of national education have never yet been disproved, al
though in some instances they have been contradicted
and they cannot be disproved, because they rest on the
sure f)undation of truth. For the purpose of showing
the importance of introducing such a measure as this into
towns I may mention some statistics with regard to one of