Year: 1869

In the opinion Of Mr. Bright, great igno-
rance is the basis of the s'vast massn of
suffering with which England is afflicted.
He says: There are multitudes amongst
us who are born and who live even to old
age without apparently the slightest hope
Of improving their condition,'' Again he
says, "what we want, at tie very basis
of society, is more intelligence more in
struction, more selfrespect, and more hope"


/ am weary he continues, "as Itravel
through the country, of looking upon the
vast fabrics that rise up, which are, if you
ask their names. poor-houses or lunatic
asylums We ought to have--throughout
the length and breadth of great and in
telligent country like tIlis--we ought to
have buildings which shall strike the eye of
8 every weary traveller through the country,
and every foreigner who visits it, which
shall be consecrated to the greatest and
noblest of all purposes that of instructing
the g:eat mass Of the people, and raising
them up to the position to which they have
right to aspire, and which God intends
r them to occupy f''','.'' -
'oE This is not simply the language of phi
I lanthropist but OF a wise and far seeing
statesman. Mr. Bright is not mere theo-
rist but as his views and actions show, emil
p nently practical. Therefore we commend
to the attention Of all skeptics concerning
the subject of public school instruction, the
views Of Mr.. Bright, to-wit: Fse@


"Possibly some persons may think that there
are rates enough, and to add school rate would
be only to add burden to burden. But let me
remind You that, as the school rate would rise if
1t were well employed, the poor rate and the
kingdom knows perfectly well that the want of
instruction is the cause of very large amount
OF the intemperance, the profigacy, the ideness,
the poverty and the crime by which our country
is disfgured. Besides, we all know that those
who have property would always feel not only
that their property was more secure, but that it
was more valuable in the midst OF an instructed
z population. We should not SO often hear from
judges and from associations established for the
purpose of promoting education with regard to
the crime and suffering which are found in our
q towns We are great people now, but how
much greater should VIC be then! We are peo-
pie of great wealth, but how much greater would
our wealth be thenl For every instructed man
is twice the instrument for the production OF
wealth than an uninstructed man is, and the
enormous waste which is caused in this country
by the recklessness and idleness, and intemper
ance of the unnstructed is incalculable."


These are the opinions, be it remembered,
of an eminent political economist. The
friends of public free school education GER
tainly will be cheered, and proceed with
their work with increased enthusiasm, when
such man as Mr.. Bright assures them 'that
this is not question between this man and
that man !: it is a question of great and SOL
emn principles, ofgreat and solemn import
to you, and to your families and to your pos
terity. We are fighting no mean battle.
1t is battle of light against darkness; lis
a battle of justice against selishuess; it is
a battle of obstruction and intelligence
against prejudice and against wrong"