The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1852-02-10 00:00:00

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we regret to see, the book i

ciently these objects, the committee have made an im pot,
tant advance, by employing a paid superintendent, whom
they sent to London to see the working of the system
there, before he entered on his dutiesat home. This is a step
that should have been taken before, but which no doubt
was prevented by want of funds. The importance of hav-
ing the whole time of an experienced man to oversee the
various schools is obvious, as, however ardent the efforts
of volunteers, they would necessarily be interrupted and
irregular. But, now that the exertions of an active officer
are devoted exclusively to this object, the arrangement
of the various schools will be facilitated and promoted.
The advice, the countenance of one skilled in the work,
the statistical information collected ; the concentration of
all that is interesting in the achoola throuzl
which are under the Union ; the read
that is thus established f

)out the town

r interchange of views—for the
imparting of experience ;—these and many more are the
advantageous results which will flow from the appoint-
ment of a paid superint,mdent
Aga

amid the 7eAlong efforts of all who engaze them_
in this good cause, the great motive which gave
rice to the whole movement is not forgotten. As the
object is to promote His glory, who is the God of the
Outcast, so the value of His blessing is never overlooked.
Meetings for prayer and mutual conference on Ragged
School interests and difficulties are h ld three or four
times annually, at the Institution in Slater-street. At
these meetings the voluntary teachers and the various
superintendents assemble; and the information given,
and advice offered, are often most valuable.

Before quitting this part of our subject, we must
notice the recent establishment of the " Shoe-black
Brigade," similar to the one in London ; and we record
with pleasure that it has met with the ereatest success.
It owes its origin to one or two energetic gentlemen of
the Union Committee. _

Thus far we have dwelt on the exertions of the commit-
tee of the Union for the furtherance of this cause, and
the apparent apathy of the public. Let us now glance at
the other side of the account, and see the pressing de-
's of the " perishing and dangerous classes."

a moderate calculation, there are at least 20,000
young persons in this great town who are growing up
without any education whatever. This is evident from
the fact, that in a single district alone (we allude to
Vauxhall) there were found 2,000 growing up in ignorance
and vice. This district may be an exceptional case, but
we have reason to fear it is not so ; but even granting that
it is, our estimate for the whole town must be much
below the mark. To meet the case of these, there are at
present 28 Ragged Schools, which, with the exception of a
few, have been established sincetheformation of the Union.
The number in attendance is only a little above 2,000.
Among these we are glad to see that there are ti:rop

Industrial Schools, and we trust that the number will
rapidly increase ; for industrial training we look upon
as one of the chief instruments in reclaiming the vicious.
Of these, the most conspicuous is the one in Soho street,
which is partly self-supporting, and therefore the more
deserving of the assistance of the public : it is
acknowledged by the most competent judges to be
most skilfully conducted, and to have peculiar advantages
for carrying out its objects, but the voluntary
aid which it receives is far from encouraging to
those gentlemen who, with such zeal, look after its inte-
rests and see to its usefulness. We very much fear that
they must often themselves contribute largely, over and
above their regular subscriptions, to keep efficient an in-
stitution which is doing so much in the cause of the
street wanderer. The average attendance of boys and
girls is about 100, and many of them &re fed and lodged
on the premises. We cannot omit to notice the second
Industrial School, in Park-street, supported solely by the
Hon. Airs. Edward Cropper, in which the pupils are en-
gaged at a variety of useful employments. This school is
a great blessing to the e.ighbourhood, and is beginning
to have a very perceptible influence. Ti.. tt,;.l, ;a
in High Park-street, is conducted by a committee of la-
dies, and is designed to give instruction, food, and partial
clothing, to about 100 girls. We heartily wish these be-
nevolent ladies all success in their work of love.
We have not space to speak of the other schools, how-
ever agreeable the task, and interesting the information.
This we must defer to another opportunity. Our present
object is to give some idea of the case which Ragged
Schools are designed to meet, and to point out how little
encouragement they have rece!ved. An inspection of the
report, however, will show the destitute localities in which
they are placed, and the influence for good which they
are beginning to exercise. As a proof of the correctness
of this statement, we have much pleasure in referring to
the address of the Learned Recorder to the Grand Jury,
on Monday, the 2nd instant. In accounting for the fact,
that the state of crime was below the average, the Re-
corder said, that among the influences tending to the
prevention of crime, " the institution of Ragged and
Industrial Schools must be conspicuously named. He
rejoiced that efforts were being made to remove the igno-
rance, both religious and intellectual, which prevailed in
the town to so great an extent, and to which a great
portion of the crime brought before them was attribu-
table." The examples of ignorance adduced by him
are most instructive, and we beg to direct to them the
attention of all interested in the success of Ragged
Schools.
The worst form of the evil, however, has not as yet
come sufficiently under the influence of the system.
We mean the case of those who are known to
1 the police as vagrants, and as guilty of petty
theft, and of those who have been in prison, who are
thieves by profession, often, it is to be feared, more from
necessity than from choice. Public attention has been
ably directed to the case of these juvenile offenders
by the late Mr. Rushton ; and we hope that his
School ; but nothing com.
sug-
gestions will not be lost sight of. This class should form
a special object of the Ragged
mensurate with the greatness of the evil has as yet been
1 attempted. This arises from want of means and want of
teachers, and we fear it can never be satisfactorily car-
ried out, so long as the system is worked by voluntary
teachers alone. A conference at Birmingham was held
in the beginning of December last on this subject, and we
refer our readers to the printed report, which contains
much valuable information on this subject. We have
ourselves read it with the greatest pleasure, and we trust
that the excellent measures suggested will soon have Par-
liamentary sanction and be in full operation. Liverpool
had the honour of sending as representatives to the Con-

ference several practical men, having a thorough know-
ledge of the subject.
When we look at this side of the account, and see such
destitution, such numbers, who, if not looked after, must
turn out pests of society, and becomes burden on the com-
munity, we are surprised to see the meagre list of sub-
scribers, whose contributions amount to a sum so
wholly inadequate to meet the evil. If these masses
are to be reclaimed—and the necessity of doing so, who
can doubt ?—the work must be set about vigorously ;
funds should be forthcoming, and be placed at the
disposal of the Union Committee, that the various
schools may receive that support on which the very exis-
tence of most of them depends. That the committee
may leave nothing undone to enable them to succeed in
their great aim, they have come to the conclusion, being
forced to it by absolute necessity, to make an appeal to
the town at large, from the various pulpits which may
he placed at their disposal. Thus the richer will have
an opportunity of contributing to the wants of the
poorer classes, and of practically acknowledging that
they are all brethren and fellow-christians, having the
same hope, and members of the same body. The districts
in which these outcasts most abound are precisely those
which, by reason of their poverty, can contribute least to
the cause in hand. But we would urge the necessity of
liberality, on economic grounds. Though the most desti-
tute districts be the home of these wretched ones, yet they
must prey upon the wealthier portions of the community.
It is calculated that the depredations of the Liverpool
thieves amount to no less a sum than seven hundred
thousand pounds annually. And if to this we add the

immense expense to the community of keeping these of-
fenders in prison, where they generally become worse in-
stead of better, we think we have shewn cause why the
public are most intimately concerned in this great ques-
tion. To the Christian and the philanthropist, it is suffi-
cient to know, that, it is not " the will of our Heavenly
Father that one of these little ones should perish."
We trust, then, that in whatever shape the appeal
may be made, it will meet with a hearty response, and
that the hands of those who have hitherto laboured so
strenuously against such great difficulties may be strength-
ened, and that others equally active and self-denying may
be enlisted in the same good cause.