, 1877-03-04

| The educational crusade appears to b,
quite general throughout Europe, and i,
| France it is beginning to take practica
shape, as the Government has already taker
the first steps towards free and compulsory
education. There seems to be feeling o1
national modification, respectfully in Paris,
that, whereas the French aspire to be intel.
lect1lal leaders, oue-third Of the people cannot
read or write, and in some of the depart
ments 60 per cent Of the people are abso-
lutely iliterate, and SO ignorant that many
of them, when they voted for LOUIS NApo1EoS
after the coup d'etat, thought they were vot-
ing for NAPOLEON l., returned from St.
Helena. The proposition made BY II. WAD-
DNoTos, the Minister Of Public Instruc-
ton. is that after the 1st of January next
all the communes shall have power to make
primary education gratuitous, and to de-
fray the expense BY special taxation. In q
second bill, N. WApp1NaroA proposes that
they may borrow from the State, for educa-
tional purposes, at the rate Of 8 per cent
BY the aid of these two bills, he expects not
only to make education free but compulsory
also, and that in ten or twenty years the
French will be one Of tho best educated
people in the world. The Paris correspond
ent Of the London Times, however, init
mates that the bills cannot be carried through
the Assembly without bitter struggle, and
that the Roman Catholic Church will ap-
pear in the field as III. WADp1sarox's bitter
est opponent. He describes the hold the
Catholic Church already has upon the pri-
mary schools as follows:
All OF them give religious instructions. So 1ate-
1y, indeed, az 1873, some private class-rooms in
Lyons we're closed because they were purely secu-
lar. although the parents did wish the children to
receive religious knowledge, and the decree Of sup
precision WIS confirmed BY the Superior Council Of
Public Instruction. Out Of nearly 3s 600 Com
munal schools for boys ncarly 81. 600 arc spec,lly
Catholic and that some 3, 600 of the teachers, out
Of 35, 600, belong to half-c1erical brotherhood.
Those - CongreJanistes" as they are called. I'M
dergo kind OF clerical training, wear clerical
garb, and for term Of years take OF the ccr-
lea! vows They arc IS devoted champions Of the
Church as the priests themselves. and In compet-
tfon with lay teachers they are the more formida-
BILE because, being unmarried, they can afford to
accept tztAing wage.
Another distracting element in the dis |
cusslon WILL be the action OF the Liberals, !
who will insist that the communal schools, |
# they are supported by special taxation,
shall be purely unsectarian, and that these
shall be excluded altogether
rom teaching. One Of the Liberals has al I
:eady given notice of an amendment to the
VADD1SGToS bills to the effect that al relig-
Gus instruction in the primary schools shall
'e given only by the ministers Of the diff
erent sects, and only after the usual hours
# study, and will also move that tie ordi-
larry teachers shall confnc themselves to
ocular knowledge. The battle in Franco
Fill evidently be substantially the Same as
hat in this country aud in England, the
principal difference being that the very
[iteracy Of the French aud its marked COL
rast with the culture Of Germany is pow
rfu1 weapon in II. WADD1sGross hands.