The Sun.
London, England, 1850-06-19 00:00:00

rourti)Xbiti on

SUN OFFICE, Seven o' Clock.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT
(THIS DAY.)

HOUSE OF COMMONS.
The SPEALIiIt took .the Ctiair shortly after Twelve
o'clock.
The following Bill, as amended, was considered and
agreed to:—
Godstone and Fligbgate Turnpike Road Bill.
RIVER DEE CONSERVENCY IMPROVEMENT
BILL.
On the motion for the consideration of the report on
this Bill,
Mr. WILSON PATTEN moved that the Bill, as
amended by the Committe on re-committal, be referred
to the Examiners of Petitions for Private Bills, to in-
quire whether the standing orders have been complied
with.—Agreed to.
SURREY AND SUSSEX RAILROAD.
On the motion for the consideration of the report on
this Bill,
Mr. ALCOCK suggested the insertion of a clause
compelling the trustees to pay off such creditors as re-
fused to take 3} per cent.
Sir W. JOLLIFFE thought there was no necessity
for the introduction of any such provision.
The report was then considered and agreed to, and
the Bill was ordered to be read a third time to-morrow.
PETITIONS.
Sir R. INGLIS presented a petition from Surrey and
Sussex against the Jews Bill.
Sir P. EGERTON presented similar petitions from
Chester.
Lord D. STUART from the Odd Fellows of Hallifax,
praying that they might be placed on the same footing
as friendly societies.
Mr. MATHESON presented several petitions from
Ross-shire against the Marriage Bill.
Mr. S. CRAWFORD presented a petition from Roch-
dale, objecting to the omission of a clause in the
Friendly Societies Bill, called the Frugal Investment
Clause.
Mr. H. BERKELEY presented petitions from certain
benefit and trade societies in Bristol, complaining of
certain clauses iu the Friendly Societies Bill and the
Savings Bank Bill.
The LORD MAYOR of DUBLIN presented a peti-
tion from the pilots of the port of Dublin, against the
Mercantile Marine Bill.
Mr. STAFFORD presented a petition from North-
ampton against the Jews Bill.
Mr., CHRlSTOPHEliepresented a petition from Lin-
coln against the Savings Bank Bill.
Mr. ELLIOT presented a petition from Kelso in
favour of the School Establishment (Scotland) Bill.
Mr. Locmima presented a petition trom a place
in Scotland against the same Bill.
Mr. WAWN presented a petition from South Shields,
praying for the adoption of a better system of ventilating
cost mines.
Mr. E. B. ROCHE presented a petition from a place
in the county of Cork complaining of the present rela-
tionship ef landlord and tenant in Ireland.
Mr. lIE A DL presented a petition from Newcastle-
upon-Tyne praying for a better system of ventilating
mines.

THE GREEK. QUESTION.
Mr. ROEBUCK gave notice that, to-morrow, he
would ask a question of the First Lord of the Treasury,
respecting the course the Government intended to pursue
after the events of Monday last.
SCHOOL ESTABLISHMENT (SCOTLAND) BILL.
Sir G. CLERK presented a pi tition from the General
Assembly of the Church of Scut!anti against this Bill.
Lord IIELGUND ruse to move the second reading of
the Bill. He said he stood in a disadvantageous posi-
' tion in bringing this subject before the attention of the
House, fur, with regard to Scotland, the fact of a system
of national education having long prevailed there, ren-
dered it somewhat difficult for him to deal with the
question. His object in bringing forward this motion
was to du something, and to take a step which was cal-
enlisted to raise the chsraoter—moral, s.)cial, and politi-
cal—of the people of Scotland. It was almost generally
agreed on all hands that if a general system of educa-
tion could be adopted, the tendency of it would be, by
increasing knowleage among the people, to promote
their moral, social, and political welfare. Tho greater
the degree of cultivation that could be given to the great
mass of the people, the more would they be able to under-
stand and appreciate the free institutions under which
they lived. It appeared that prior to the Reformation
in Scotland certain liws wore in existence by which
there was something like a national education provided;
and as early as 1694, there was an Act passed in Scot-
land, obliging all persons to put their oldest sons to
school. Those schools were then connected
with the Roman Catholic establishments of the
day. After that time there was evidence to show
that there were schools established in the principa
towns in Scotland where the Latin language and gram-
mar were taught. But the origin of the parochial school
system of Scotland was r. ferable to the period of the
Reformation. Immediately after that event the funds o
the Roman Catholic Church were directed to
be appropriated to three purposes, namely, the
payment of the reformed clergy, the maintenance of the
poor, and the establishment of schools and universities. By
that scheme a very liberal endowment was given to the
parochial schoolmasters, amounting from 100 to 200
marks Scotch per annum, on which there was no increase
until 1803. In the Act of 1803 a great many faults
had been made, and it had not worked at all well, but
it would be difficult to amend them in consequence of the
strong religions prejudices which always interfered
with any proposal for amendment in those
matters. Though the state of Scotland was on the
whole superior to that of England in educational mat-
ters, yet it was far from being what it might be.
From the last prisons report, he found that out of 1,600
prisoners only one In three could read, one in thirteen
could write well, and one in 15 only knew something
more than mere reading and writing. Out of 20,000
prisoners committed from the beginning of 1847, 4,742
could not read, 10.517 could not write, 1,623 could sign
their names, arid only 264 had learned something
more than reading and writing. As to the effect of
education in Edinburgh, be might mention that while the
number of juvenile commitments in that city, in 1847,
were 269;
in 1849 there were only 156. But with all
the great institutions which that city possessed, at least
90 per cent, of the children there were uneducated.
The number of parish schools attached to the Established
Church of Scotland were 833, with 84 scholars on an
average, giving a total of 74. 0
80
uO4 there
scholars
supplemental schools, with 16
125
general schools, with 1.400 children, g, • and
total
gthiveiEngltaab
Established
sh,d
amount of 1(6,000 children educated bY
' Church. The Fuse Church also educated 65,000 children,,
and 180,000 were educated by non-parochial schools,
giving a total of 330,000 children educated in Scotland •
leaving about 180,000 quite uneducated. Scotland was
taxed much less than it used to bo for the purposes of
the education of the poor. Taking the fourteen counties
south of the Forth and the Clyde, with t% population
of
1,288,000, out of which 273,000 werevural po-
pulation, living in 249 parishes, _., would give
which, taking
the taxation of each parish at 401
9,6001. of taxation to educate 45,600 children.
He would pass to the manner in. whichesp e
cs ct bhoeu lm
thoughtaste r s
were treated in Scotland, and in this r
that there was a great difference between modern and
ancient days. Ia former days they
had 1
stabile the
schoolmasters being paid from 9/. to 12 ~
ords of
Principal of the University received only 18/. per annum,_..
and a minister of a church received sometimes only ?
Now-a-days, while the salaries of others connected with
i
the Church had increased so greatly, schoolmasters were
even worse paid. They had it in evidence before the
Lords' Committee that schoolmasters in the Highlands
were paid about 5/. per annum, while his other fees, with
which he had to eke out his living, amounted to about
five shillings, which was often paid in peat and
other articles. And in other places they had
• many instances r.f perasdis being engaged for
15/. and paid 10/., or for _ 201. and paid 151.
• If the schools were to be considered an integral portion
of the Establishment ho must nay that they had not been
fairly treated. The measure which ho had introduced
• was founded upon the territorial system—it was impos•
sible that there could bo any union system like that
existing in this country extended to Scotland, for the
Estaklished Church was there greatly in the minority.
' Ile came now to one of the must difficult parts of
this question, namely, the religious principles to be
taught in
,
these schools. There were many different
sects in Scotland
----.
but he did not think that circumstance
~,..,
although there
would stand •
‘,.. ' , • '• , \ in the way of this Bill, for
S might be • •
~
~,,...: ,_ . a variance in theory there was co variance in
in the school:.
~ ;,-, , :i V. practice in
1-:•, r., of the Establishment
. ./.., ,e.,- --• , Free Church. • '
religious views entertained
and the schools of the
sla
mh The religious taught in
1........ 41:214' '' f - --s''''. both were themediudmogstabsr
\ ) .!!`i- .71, 'II
j the throe which
they were inculcated were the same. The feet was, tali
s 'r•7,s'••;• ;I'': v--/ habit of the people of Scotland were suchthat
''i • ..,- .e.t
Gi allowed their children to all schools without reference to
, --:•--,-'," ,