The Sun.
London, England, 1868-01-06 00:00:00

Special, or, as it is called in England, technical instruc-
tion was introduced into the lyedes and colleges of France
fifteen years ago ; and now there is scarcely a town of any
consideration but has either a lycee or a college, or both.
There are also a number of private schools for technical
instruction. The most eminent of these were, and still
are, the Ecole Turgot and the College Chaptal—magnifi-
cent metropolitan insCtutions, which received children
intended for every career except the learned professions.
Entirely distinct from these are the technical schools
proper. These are, as a rule, subject to the ministries of
the department which the kind of education given in them
is intended to subserve ; though there are, more especially
in the provinces, many schools established by the Chambers
of Commerce and Industry, and by individuals partaking
of a similar character. Thus, the Ecole Polytecnique,
being chiefly devoted to the education and training of
military officers, is under the department of t'ee Minister of
War, the School of Naval Engineering is under the
Minister of Marine, the Fine Arts Schools are under the
ministry cf the Imperial Household ; and the Comtrvatoire
Imperial of Arts and Hfindierafts, the three Schools of
Art and Handicraft cf ChAlons, Aix, and Angers,
the Central School of Arts and Manufactures, 'tha
three great .Agriceltural Schools, of which that
of Grignon is the most celebrated, the • school of
Bridges and Causeways, and all those, in short, in which
agriculture and manufacture. are m '..de the chief feature,
ar.! under the control of the Yin'ster of Agriculture,
Commerce, and Public Works. The three provincial
schools of Arts and Handicrafts in the respective towns of
Chalons, Aix, and Angers may scrvs as types of the ordi-
nary technical schools of France, and in describing them
the whole number may be said to be described. The
course occupies three years. The pupils rise at a quarter
past five. Five-and-a-half hours daily—four lathe morning,
and one-and-a-quarter in the evening—are devoted to
theoretical studies, and seven hours to manual labour,
Mathematics and drawing are taught in the morning;
the evening is devoted chiefly to preparation. Classes
in grammar and writing are held morning and
evening. The manual labour in the workshop
is divided into two equal stages —from half-past
ten a.m. till two p.m., and from half-past three
till seven. The students are classed in three divisions,
according to the years of entrance. Each class has its
qualified professor of mathematics and mechanics, as well
as its professor of drawing. We have not space to describe
the course of study. The labour in the workshops includes
progressive work in carpentry, forging, casting in metals,
• and fitting up machines. There are 900 pupils, all boarders
in these three schools ! The minimum age of admission is
15 ; the annual cost for board and instruction is £2O, which
is of course far from defraying the expenses of the esta-
blishments. The pupils are mostly the sons of mechanics
or small tradesmen. After they leave the school these
young men rise in almost all cases to high industrial posi-
tions ; very rarely do they continue to remain ordinary

workmen.
Mr. Sa.muelson, in summing up the results of his inqui-
ries, says :—" If I may venture to suggest some furthez
measures, which may, in my opinion, be speedily and
safely adopted by the State to promote education, I would
sum them up as follows. First, as to Elementary Edu-
cation.—Let no child under twelve he allowed to work
until it can read and write. Make it the duty of every
parish to see that its children have the means of elemen-
tary instruction. Encourage elementary schools by special
grants to establish advanced classes. Assist the, pupils
of elementary schools who have shewn remarkable ability
to continue their education in a superior school. Secondly,
as to Technical Education.—Revise your Science Minutes
and abolish the limitation to working-class pupils of the
capitation grants to science teachers. It is simply a
stumbling-block to the weak consciences of committee-
men, and prevents the establishment of classes remunera-
he
tive to the teachers. Pay a larger sum per head for t
more difficult subjects, and thereby remove the temptation
to the teachers of science schools to ride physiology and
inorganic chemistry to death. Give a thoroughly scientific
training in Jermyn.street to a small number of young men,
chosen, if you like, in part from amongst your more
promising " science teachers," in order to qualify them as
professors of science. Distinguish between these and the
men who merely get up one or two subjects in order to
teach a science class. Supplement local efforts to establish
or to extend secondary or superior scientific schools (not
mere science classes), by building grants or loans, and by
the endowment, or partial endowment, under proper con-
ditions, of professorships. Begin with Manchester (if
Manchester is not too proud), whose citizens are trying to
raise £lOO,OOO for the enlargement of Owen's College. Let
one condition of assistance to a scientific school be, that a
perfecting school (Fortbildungsschule) shall be affiliated
to it ; and of the endowment of a professorship, that the
professor shall teach in the perfecting school. Lastly,
consolidate your Department of Education."

KING THEODORDS AND THE SPIRIA.S.—A corre-
spondent of the Times of India, writing from Annesley
Bay, says :—" Abyssinia, the land of superstition, has of
course its witches of Endor. I heard a good story the
other day illustrating the popular feeling of the country
against Theodorus, and the result of our advent. The
King, so the story said, heard the news with a troubled
countenance, and determined to consult the spirits of his
'athers. They were summoned and appeared before him.
The King : Tell me my fate. Shall I conquer as I have
always conquered? Spirits: No; thy time has come;
prepare thyself. The King: Let me reign but three years
more, and I will redeem the past. Spirits: No. The,,
King: But two years ; let me reign but two years. Spirits :
No ! Not one year. Thou halt been tried and found
wanting. The blood of slaughtered thousands cries aloud
for vengeance. But stay ! There is yet one chance.
Relinquish sovereignty, return to thy country, be again
the tiller of the soil, earn thy bread by the sweat of thy
brow, and live ! The Kink was very irate, and the spirits
were directed to go to --, the place, from
wileme they