Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1893-04-03

| so'eiAons 40 AoiuinS out. NOT only Ii
primary education gratuitous, but the
training offered In the university is virtu.
ally SO, and as to the Intermediary stages
and the schooling offered to those who
wish to perfect themselves In speoial
branches, this also IL practically free to
those who cannot afford to paw for n.
The lycees and colleges, 1t Is true. exsot 4
small sum for tuition and board. This h
done that those having means msy have
the privilege of helping out the govern.
ment In the great burdens Ii has assumed
| in behalf of those not so well off in the
world. 1t should be noted, too, that these
institutions, which are clssssd as the sgen.
| cies of secondary education, receive 70,
pay pupils who would otherwise bs eligi
BILE, owing to their tender sge, for free tn.
ition In the schools of the primary de-
partment. Thus all classes are provided
for. Those who desire exelusiveness car
have 1t at the minimum of cost, and
what makes this arrangement one which
| cannot be objected to by the poor, Is that the
same schools are open at later period tS
tAsse who pass with superior credit through
the free schools. This the government
provides for by most generous offer ol
scholarships, and II speaks volumes In
praise of both the system and the pupils
that there have been periods In which the
children of the working people, those at
tending the state primary schools, have
prohted by this offer of Scholarships tc
the number of from three to four thousand
q year.
The comforting of degrees is a matter
which the government has gotten now en-
tirely into its own hands Upon this
point 1t has had fierce contest with the
church, but the church has been defeated.
Considering, too, that the bachelors de-
gree Is requisite In France to admission
into the professions, as well as for appoint
ment to certain offices of state. like that
of judges, for instance, 1t would seem as
though the government, In carrying out
Its motto Of liberty and equality, had no
other course opsn to 1t. Another fercs
contest had to be wsged with the church
upon the grave question of the quslifics.
tions required in teachers. Under the old
systems the teaching in primary schools
was largely in the hands of nuns and
members of Catholic brotherhoods, and
all that was deemed necessary In the sp.
pointmsnt Of such teacher was that their
ftness should be certified to by some bish.
op or lady superior. But other aspirsnts
for places of this kind had to pass an ex.
animation and bs certihcated by the state.
Here was decided inequality, not to say
injustice, and the republic has cut this
knot of difficulty by putting all teachers
upon the same level. In fact 1t has gone
further tina this, and has provided that
after csrtain period, now nearly expired,
no member of a religious order shall be
employed in state schools under any cir
cumstances.
After this statement 1t will be no news
to say that the tesching of religion Is moi
allowed in the public schools of France
1t may, however, be something of a sur.
prise to learn that the eurriouls makes
special provision for moral teaching, es-
pecially go when 1t Is intlmsted that the
moral teaching afforded includes the du-
ties owed by man to The supreme being.
What the government has aimed at has
been merely the exclusion of dogmatic
religion teaching. In other words, it has
taken firm stand against the conversion
of state schools into psrochisl schools and
the use of public money and government
sanction, as these have been largely used
heretofore, In upholding the national su-
prenGcy of a particular church. The
state is careful TO declare in this matter
that 1t is not opposed to religion itself, snd
it has practically demonstrated this, one
would think, by the religious scope 1t al
lows In the teaching of morals. What is
AOIct kule accommodating HnE
made 1t possible for religious instruction
by the various churches to go on, if those
interested wish it to do SO, conourrently
with its own grstuitously impaired secular
instruction. This. by providing that dur
ing one entire day of each week the state
schools shall be closed, leaving the chill
dren to 60 elsewhere as parents, priests or
pastors may desire them to do.
Recurring to tine subject of higher edu-
cation, 1t must be noted that there lie but
one university for the whole of France.
Strictly speaking, in fact, the University
of France embraces the entire educational
system, with every school controlled by
the three departments before mentioned.
That, however, which ans sEers to our no.
tion of university teaching Is carried on
by what are called academies, thsse being
divided again into various faculties. In
all there ara seventeen academies, and
these, of course, are conveniently distrib-
utsd amongst this lsrSest towns. Paris
has one, and inevitably 1t is the best This
city is indeed the only place whsre all the
faculties Of instruction are represented,
the other eenters of higher education be
ing vaTiously blessed in this respect &C
| cording to their importance or enterprise
| come of thsm having only one or two ol
these faculties. Naturally, therefore
Il pun hhc NuOlc ALI
has perhaps full one half of all the stu
dents. To show how completely the dom
insnt church has bsen driven from it's for
mer position in university teaching, We
| need cite cnly one fact, which Is that 4
has not single faculty of theology unde
state auspices, whereas the Protestant
have two, one at Paris aad the other a'
Montaubon. Not only go but the Cstho
lie church has few properly accredited rep
ressntatives amongst the sixteen hundred
or more university professors; a fact
however, which has, unfortunately, it
dark eide, for It is estimated by thos
thoroughly familiar with university Ef
that about four out OF every six of tn
professors are sgnostics, the .ame authori
| ties assuring us that the proportion of az
nostics among students Is still greater.
The discipline in lycees and colleges par
takes naturally of that which Is In vogu
in well regulated French homes There 4
perhaps no country where adult life trav
els so generally alcDg lines which th
American would call fast" and at tn
same time we know of no civilized couu
try In which boys and girl, up TO a eertai
age, are kept under such etriot surveil
lance. Perhaps the later exceEses are
natural rebound from the earlier reprss
sion. Be this as 1t may, youthful life
l France, "l6lneT AZ nome or Et SCHOOL,
vsly much of q prison life for both sexei
We are referring now particularly 10 hig
olsss schools, which are largely pAtronize
by the bourgeois, aud where many of th
pupils are received "a bosrders. The boy
when taken out for a walk are always vis
ilantly attended, and they carry sbou
with them g most distressing str of shJ
ness One is impressed indeed that the
are altogether effeminste in their sppsal
ance, affording a complete Contrast
both physique and manners 70 America
school boys of the same sge snd class A
for the poor girl they are moro demur
. looking than the average nun, and wbe
You learn what thsir lives are you are M
surprised at this They are watched &
vigilantly at night Gs by day. LITERAL
: they are never free from overnight, nt
i, even when they are aslesp, for the rule
the new lycees for girls is to lodge them
!, long dornitor.es, holding thirty or moi
beds. these being separated only by
screen, and each dormitory has its
{ male guard who overlooks thess slsepiI
, innocents as vigorously. they say,
though abe wsre a death watch keepil
, vigil over condemned criminals
As to day rcholars, they are never 4
: lowed, If they are girls, to make the dl
4 tance between home and school unstton
cd. Generally an omnibus Ia at their ss
= vice, and IL this is not used, the disciplil
d of the school makes II imperative that th
r shall be accompanied there and back
o. some female chaperon, this rule being
? strict that its infrsction would be visit
r. a.. nrpfiss sroulstnn Thara is Utt