^, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) K^ ^c '^- ^. ^1^ «^g ^0 1.0 ^Ki Li |iJJ_ l.-^ KS 11.25 111 L^ 1 1.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation 4(>^ o 33 WIST MAIN STRUT WIUTIR.N.V. UliO (7U)I79-4>0S ;\ .^. CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical IMicroreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiquM > Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur r~| Covers damaged/ D D D D D Couverture endommagte Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurie et/ou pellicul^e |~~| Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque r~1 Coloured maps/ Cartes giographiques en couleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) |~n Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ ReliA avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La re liure serrie peut causer de i'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge intirieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajouties lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela Atait possible, ces pages n'ont pas «t« film«es. Additional comments:/ Commentaires supplAmentaires: L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-Atre uniques du point de vue bibliographique. qui peuvent modifier una image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger una modification dans la m6thode normale de filmage sont indiquis ci-dessous. □ Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur I — I Pages damaged/ D Pages endommagdes Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaurdes et/ou pelliculies r~y( Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ v/ n Pages dicolories, tachetdes ou piqudes Pages detached/ Pages d^tachdes Showthrough/ Transparence I I Quality of print varies/ Quality inigale de I'impression Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel suppl^mentaire Only edition available/ Seule Mition disponible Pages wt tolly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont ix6 film^es A nouveau de fagon & obtenir la meilleure image possible. This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ca document est filmA au taux de reduction indiqui ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X y 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X mplaire Les details iniquas du vant modifiar axigar una a da filmaga d/ las 9xad/ piquies al/ lantaira jrad by arrata afilmad to / lilamant Bta, una palura, I da fag on A >ibla. »X The copy filmed here hee been reproduced thenke to the generoaity of: New Brunswick Museum Saint John The imegea appeering here ere the beat quelity poaeible considering the condition and legibility of the originel copy end in keeping with the filming contrect specifications. Originel copiee in printed peper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the lest pege with a printed or iilustreted impres- sion, or the beck cover when appropriate. All other originel copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or iilustreted impres- sion, end ending on the laat page with a printed or illustrated impression. The last recorded frame on eech microfiche shall contain the symbol —^(meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol y (meaning "END"), whichever applies. IVIapa, plates, charts, etc.. may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too lerge to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames aa required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: 1 2 3 L'exemplaire filmA fut reproduit grice i la g4n4rosit* de: New Brunswick (Museum Saint John Lee Imeges suhrentes ont 4t* reprodultes avec le plue grand soin. compte tenu de le condition et de la netteti de I'exempleire filmA, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmaga. Lee exempieires origineux dont la couverture en papier eet imprimte sent filmte en commen^ant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernMre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration. soit par le second plet, selon le ces. Tous lee eutres exempieires origineux sont filmto en commenpant par la premlAre pege qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustretion at en terminent per la dernlAre pege qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparattre sur la dernlAre imege de cheque microfiche, selon le caa: le symbols —»• signifie "A SUIVRE". le symbols ▼ slgnifie "FIN". Lee cartes, planches, tableaux, etc.. peuvent itre film4s i dee taux de rMuction diffArents. Lorsque le document est trop grend pour Atre reproduit en un seul clichA, il est film* i pertir de I'angle sup4rieur gauche, de geuche i droite, et de heut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'imeges nAcssseire. Les diegrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 ':'TS3 ^T^ ' - ^.^ X !Mi*S£J S SL»tK III! ^■r-\\\ ^•r-^,.^pm^' 7^ '\ r. L. LECTURE BELIVBRED BY IHARSHALI. d'AVRAY, E»€| »f ^4*' ON TUESDAY THE 22nd DAY OF JANUARY, 186©, AT THK ^^^p; \ '^m na^^o '*n. FREDERICTON. t Printed at the request and at the sole expence of the Teaohere attending the Training School in that City. ^ ■./*.. K, ■^ FREDERl ^TON, N, B. i. y rni^TED BT JAMK9 HOdC, REPORTER OFriQK. 18 50. 'wm li t ' •■■* ■■■■4 a ■ .>4 -. r1 MvMMnan ,f< ^ :.i » f \f' ' \^' */-, v^vi ' ''i >■ %i ^^J-'^ /■ -. -*-...«■■■■«.— «j ^W fc, Frepekictoat, "UiU January, ld5A. At a Meeting of the Teachers at pregent altendinjj; the Training School in Frcdertcton, Mr. Thomas Lloytl itt tho Chair, and Mr. Davis F. Howe acting as Secretary, It was unanimously Resolved, That &n Addroia be presented to Marshal d'Avray, Esq., requesting hit psrmiitiion to have the Lecture on Education, delivered by him in the Temperance Hall, on the 22nd instant, printed in Pamphltft form, and that Messrs. Robert Caldwell, Davis P. Howe, and Joaeph Landry be a Com- mittee to present the same, ■' «l The above Gentlemen having waited on Mr. d'Avray with the Address, he was pleased to make the following Reply: — Frederictow, t25th January, 1850. . Gentlemen, — I most willingly comply with the obliging request of the Teachers, and herewith forward a copy of the Lecture which I delivered on the 22nd instant, in order that it may bo published by them. I trust they will do mc the justice to believe that I am fully sensible of the very great honor they have conferred upon me by their desire to give greater publicity to my lontimente on the subject of Education, and that thoy will give mo eredjt for tho sincerity jvith which I subscribe myself * Their obliged and fiitbrul aervant, M, d'AVRAY. t V- ■,i knc BUbje persc thee who whosi its v( ferinij thedj ties, I gra| that that of a 1 mail —thai L E C T U 11 i: Ladi Gkntlejien, — >I£S AND UKNTI In the Lectnre which I had the honor to dclivar in this place nn Tuesday last, I discussed '':o subject ot' Education as generally understood, and tooit occasion to show that the term is in very many instances sadly misapplied, inasmuch as it does nut sivnifv that preparation for the actual and active business of life which ought, I conceive, to be the aim and the end of all Education. I asserted, and I strengthened my assertion by quoting the opinions expressed by men in every respect my superiors, and especially entitled to attention for their thorough acquaintance with the matter in hand, i assorted that what is termed a first rate Education in England, the Education imparted in the Schools and at tiie Universities, is singularly ill-calculated to prepare a young man for h'n future career. That however brilliant may have been his scholastic course — how- ever great the number of honours he may have obtained, the only result will be a certain amount of Classical and Mathematical knowledge, and a corresponding amount of ignorance on other iiubjects, and this I assert as the result of my own experience and personal observation. I repeat it boldly because I will not suffer myself to be biassed by early feelings — by early impressions or by the certainty that I shall be opposed by hundreds or by thousands who will arguo in favour of that system of Classical Education whose strongest claims to their sympathy and admiration arises from its venerable antiquity, and from the fact that despite its age (dif- fering in this from other things) it is fashionable also I acknowledge as freely and as fully as possible that the study of the dead languages is invaluable as an exercise of the mental facul- ties, and as awakening and cultivating the perception of the pupil; I grant this, totally apart from the information acquired, but I deny that it is the only means of producing so desirable a result, I deny that it is necessary or in any way expedient even, to devote years of a young life solely to the acquisition of this species of knowledge. I maintain that the mental faculties may bo as efficiently exercised — that the perception may be as thoroughly awakened, and as 1 I >4 ^ 'I , }i 1^! I 1 i V 'iM l» \i: . iikiill'iilly cnltivulcd by ttliiei' niul better iiienn* — that all the infur- jiiittion that cuii be uequiiod Uy tlio Htudy ot* the languages oi' aiitii|iiity, riuiy bo ubtailiod wUh ^rmU>' facility, and that a mass of othrr kiiowlcdgo of much mora importance, of much tnoro practical utility, may bo Bctiuirod at tito snnin time. .In .wpport of thid I hIH nppcnl to the experience of the multitudes ■wli :> were once (.'lu^tiicul Scholnrs, and who have ceased tc be so — who will not hctiiluto tocoufoflfl that want of practice — or the nature of their subnequunt oceupntioriK hn.i caused them to forget the whole of that ClnsHic lore which it cost them so much pain and so many years to obtain, who will itflte it ns their candid opinion that their Latin and their Greek have rarely been of any service to them. Of tho manv tiiousandH who receive a (Classical Education, how few have either time, opportunity, or taste, to keep up their intimacy with the Literature of antiquity. How very few shall we find in ■the rank3 of Commerce, or even of the Professions, who are habitual readers of any (ircek or Latin autliors, or who arc able to assist their chillrnn in their pfUMful progress along that path which (how- .over much they may regret the lime they themselves were made to •spend in the anccnt) fashion and the feeling that a Classical Educa- tion is a genihfiuanly thing, compel them to climb? I informed you that the Hniversities themselves were at length awakening from their Ion;; repose, rousing from their apathy and tacitly admitting that they have for centuries been wrong; that they have very recently decided upon enlarging the hitherto contracted course of study pursued within their walls, and enforcing the ac- qusition of those sciences which ought never to have been neglected. If then in tha old Country men arc bcgiiming to think that Edu- cation means something more than it has hitherto been permitted to signify, if in that wealthy land men are coming to the conclusion that Education ought to be so conducted as to qualify the rising generation for the tkilful discbarge of the duties of life — that it •oun-ht to bo of Rueh a practical nature as not to postpone the ac- -quiremcnt of all roally useful knowledge until that Education shall Jjavo been virtually concluded. If, I say, the learned, the great, «nd the good men who preaido over our British Universities are convinced that they can no longer lag behind in the onward march •of improvement, that thoy also must keep pace with the spirit of the times, and provide for the Students in their Halls and Colleges some better and more nourishing; food than the monastic lore upon which jthey have fed so \wt%\ that they mu.it endeavour now to mako them I |n-acticn1Iy useful men and not merely learned pcdunts; if England,, the land of dearly cherished prejudices is doing this, how clearly is' it our duty in this fuvourud Provinc -. where all may lind the means of a comfortable existence who choose to labour for it, but where all or nearly all must labour to obtain those means; how imperatively are icc called upon to adopt such a system of Education, founded upon such a solid base and sure foundation, as shall iufullibly secure to uur children that amount of really useful knowledge which shall prepare them for the business of after life, qualify them for inter- course with their fellow men, and for the etlicient and conscientious- discharge of every duty. But above all how carefully, how constantly, and how unwearcdly, should those labour in the sacred cauac, who from their position have the ruling and administering of this important matter. It is their solemn duty to devote their best energies to the interests of Education, to do every thing in their power to foster and encourage it. Never for a single moment forgetting that as they are entrusted with the future wellfarc of the rising generation, as the happiness or misery of thousands depends solely upon their proceedings, so will they be responsible to Giod and man for the result, so will this Province bless them as its benefactors, or curse them as the authors of its ruin. At the same time let it not be imagined that the utmost assistance and support of the Government of the Province can of itself produce the desired benefit, and secure to us the blessings of good Educa- tion. Much moro is required than this, which must be supplied by the zealous co-operation of the people themselves. They must become deeply impressed with the true value of instruction, and' labour anxiously and constantly to secure it to their children. They must themselves awake to a sense of their own deficiencies and neglect no means within their power to guard their offspring against' the evils which spring from them. Much has been done and much is doing to spread light among the people, but far more remains to be undertaken. The Education of the people in its highest and' best sense, can be accomplished only by themselves. It is their proper duty — their individual right — and well it is for them, for all, that it cannot so well be accomplished by any other agency. A ■Government may bring power to bear upon the work, and it may do BO with the precision and unity of a single mind; but if it cannot secure the co-operation of the people, all its power will be weaknessr and all its unity of purpose utterly unavailing. " No great mora^ f (\ /4 m 1 • fft* economical chsinge in the i^tnte of a country («nyg Dr. Chnlniera) rs the achievement of one single arm, it lit the nchievomcut of many ; and though a single man walking in the loftiness of his heart, might hke to engross all the fame of it, it will remain uti impotent spccu- latton unless thousands come forward to share amongst them all th« fatigue of it. It was by successive strokca of the Pick-nxe and the Chisel that the Pyramids of Egypt were reared; and great must be the company of workmen and limited the ta^k which each must occupy, ere there will he made to ascend the edifice of a nation's work and a nation's true greatness. Let us hope that the day is coining if not already come, when Education will be universally regarded n» the birthright of man; and when to withhold intellectual and moral culture from minds created and placed within our reach, shall be CHtcrmed an injustice Co Society and n sin against God. The ground already gained and in which thn precious seed is deposited must be cultivated with incessant care if we would secure the future harvcat. The dangers of popular igiiornnce connected as they are with all the varieties of vice and crime, cannot be effectually removed by a few slight and occasional exertions, they require to be met by systematic and unwearied diligence and upon a scale proportioned to the magnitude of the < vil it ia proposed to redress. The sight of a diseased or fractured limb immediately arrests attention and commands relief, but the inspection of vice and ignorance seldom awakens any similar sympathy, and yet it has been well said " heavier wrong is not done under the sun." It lasts from year to year, from century to century; the blinded aire slaves himself out, and leaves a blinded son, and men made in the image of God continue little better than bciiHtH of burden. Our temporal interests — our national prosperity are alike deeply involved in the Education of the young, und ns tic systetn tnn answer the end for which it is designed unlesH those who ore entrusted with the important tai^k arc well qualified for their duticA, so neither will any measures prove successful, unless Parents tivuil themselves of the advantages offered to them, and use their beat efforts to sup- port and to extend them. May all our expectations soon be realized. INTny those in autho- rity be more deeply impressed with their great rcKponsibilities, may the people bo led to set a higher value on the moral and reli- gious training of their ofTspring, and may nil classes according to their several abilities, feel a hearty desire to further the good work, parent Privat how piric, lighter But given of the langur 1 r tn nlnierii) f many ; t, might t epecu- n all the and tho int must ch must natiori's e, when of man; m minds injustice B seed is lid secure jonncctcd :annot be ons, they and upon oposcd to mediately on of vice yet it has Bun." It indcd sire adc in the ko deeply fin answer rusted with HO neither Ihcmselves »its to sup- in autho- )nsibilities, 1 and roli- jcording to good worl<, that those who have sown and those who have reaped may hareafter rejoice together I shall now continue the investigation which I commenced on Tuesday last, and passing rapidly over some of the means of Edu- cation which are aflbrded to the middle and lower classes at home, call your attention to certain Institutions which as they are ad- mirable in their nature, and invaluable in their results, may perhaps aflTord us some useful hints ior our own guidance. With respect to the Education given to the middle classes in England, it is difficult to obtain correct information, owing to the private nature of most of tho Institutions in which they are brought up. Boarding and Day Schools opened on private speculation are the common medium of instruction for the children of the middle classes, but Schools of a new kind have arisen during the last few years which have already done much in some of the larger towns, towards supplanting Private Schools; and which from the superior principle on which they are f )uuded are likely gradually to super, sede Private Schools altogether. I mean Proprietary Schools, as they are called — that is Schools bclongini; to a number of persons who have united for the purpose of providing for the Education of their children. In these cases the plan to be pursued and the sub- jects to be taught, are determine d by a committee representing the whole body of proprietors, which Committee also generally appoints the master. Many advantages must necessarily result from this plan of pro- ceeding provided the Committee be composed of able and intelligent men. In n Proprietary School the Teacher is not required to act in the multifarious capacity of the conductor and proprietor of a Private School, and his fitness for tho office can be tested by a thorough examination; much may also be said in their favour as regards economy, and much also with respect to the guarantee which they afiord to parents. Under present circumstances a parent is obliged to bo excessively cautious in the selection of a Private School, and unless he bo a man of superior discernment how is he to distingui^>h between the inflated assertion of the em- piric, of tho educational quack, and tho Htatement of tho sober en- lightened candid and skilful practitioner? But although it must be confessed that the kind of Education given to the middle classes is much superior to that of the children of the upper ranks, it is still vtry defective; the study of the dead languages, whifh as I hnvc shown, occupies almost exclusively the '"WfiRi. ]» ft w r #- Is ! i irttientioii of the upper classes, engrosses far too much oftlieir time also; and while this is made the one thing needful how slight is the provision for exercising the powers of observation and of judgment! What is done towards cultivating the moral feelings, save the pro- pounding of vague general precepts which are not carried home to the heart, and which the child may in all probability see broken through every day even by those who advance them? How insuffi- cient are the means for calling into action any latent power the child may possess for the cultivation of those arts and sciences on which his success in life, his respectability, and, indirectly, even his rcctitiide may depend. Where will he iiud the inducement or even the opportunity for the pursuit of Mechanics, Architecture, Sculpture, Chemistry, Mineralogy, or that one among a dozen oth^r branches of knowledge^ for which he may have a peculiar aptitude ! Where will these noble powers be developed which would fit him for assisting in the administration of Justice, or in the general business of Government. What is done towards giving him an extended view of the principles on which honourable success may best be insured in Manufactures, Commerce or Agriculture? or for making him acquainted with the laws of his country or the reasons on which those laws are based, or for introducing him to a knowledge of the general laws of political and social Justice, so that ho may be ready as a good subject and a good man, to help in forwarding the true interests of his country and of mankind, and join in steering clear of those errors which havo proved the ruin of nation afler nation. Finally, what is done towards giving the young a clear insight into the causes of disease, and making them acquainted with the nature and office of the diH'ercnt members of that system, which from the moment of birth to the hour of death, is affected in some degree by every motion of the body, by every sensation of the mind? Nothing — literally nothing — when a boy has completed what is termed his Education, whvti he leaves School, his stock of knowledge seldom exceeds this, he has learned to con- strue a littie Latin poetry, and perhaps one or two of the easiest prose authors, to write a few Latin verses, to conjugate u few Greek verbs and to translate some Greek Author, oiid he may also have learned some French, that is to say French as it is learned at School, which does not by any means imply that ho can cither speak the lansuage or read it so as to understand it. This I sav is in uine cases out of ton the amount, or nearly so, of his knowledge, und then come« the question, what are wo to do with Tom, what in 11 he fit for, what profession would he like to adopt, . .I's Educatio* such ns it is, has been an expensive and a lengthy piocess, and his parents naturally but most erroneously, conclude (hat their boy is now qualified for any employ meut, but how speedily «re they unde* ceived when thoy come to investigate the matter more thoroughly. Then it is that they discover that all Tom's learning isof very little practical service, and that the real Education of life, that which ia to provide him with bread and with butter to spread on it. is not yet commenced. Poor Tom with his smattering of Latin and Greek, his small stock of Geography and Mathematics is but a helpless animal, and unless his parents can get him a Commission or send him to Sea, what is to become of him; I will tell you what is tha fate in store for him and for thousands like him. If his parents possess the means to support him for three or four years he enters a lawyer's otHce or a Barrister's chambers, or else Jie is placed with a Surgeon and walks the Hospitals. Many of course do well, but how many alas! without talent or without interest and connexion, drag on a weary and profitless existence, a life of wretchedness and poverty, and end their days in the midst of the misery and want into which they have been compelled to sink, regretting, who shall say how bitterly, that the sums wasted on their Education had not rather been expended in teaching them some honest trade, the exercise of which would have maintained them in comfort and res- pectability. But many are not in a position to enable their sons to pursue any of the Professions, they cannot afford to pay the neces- sary sum at the outset, and as, with the fine Education their boy has received, and the fine manly feelings he possesses, it would be a thousand pities to cramp his energies by devoting him to any vulgar employment, he is suffered to remain quietly at home for a year or so to see what will turn up, perhaps a friend who has some interest will procure a gentlemanly situation in a public ofKce, and they are content to wait for that, meanwhile the young man is rapidly con- summating the ruin of all his energy, of all the habits of study and application he may possess, he idles away his time in profitless, oflen in more questionable amusements, he contracts habits which are very probably most ill suited to his real position, and which utterly disqualify him for future exertion, nnd when circumstances oocur to prove to him that he must no longer rely on others, when death deprives him of all support, and he is cast upon his own re- sourses for the means of existence, he too sinks lower and lower in the social scale aod either enlists as a common suldier or seeks 3 ■ xx^ m i i r-1 S. ! r w I •omd less honest means of existence, or, if not entire!/ without means, possessed of some small pittance which he has neither the taleut nor oftentimes the resolution to increase by any honest labour, he flies from his creditors and seeks a refuge in some small Coutinental Town adding one more to the thousands, who, while at liberty crowd the Cofiee Houses and Billiard Rooms, and when deprived of it, tenant the debtor's prisons. Let it not be thought that this melancholy picture is too highly coloured, or that I have exageratcd in the account I have given of the consequences of an ill-directed Kducatiun. It is but too true a tale, but too true a delineation of what has been the lot of thou- sandi, of what, under similarly defective systems, will inevitably bo the lot of thonsunds more. The means of instruction provided for the poor are Schools for Paupers, Infant Schools, Day Schools, and Schools of Industry. It would require far more time than is now at my disposal to enter nt any length into a detail of the good and bad points of these several descriptions of Schools, and I must for the present confino myself to a very brief notice of them. The Schools for Paupers are estabti.shments formed by the Parishes in large and populous towns for the reception of children from the Work Houses. The principle ui>on which they are con- ducted seems to be this, that us rcgardii Paupers all moral instruc- tion must be based on a continued round of industry. The time of the children is consequently divided between the School, where they are taught to read, to write, and to cypher, and tho work shop where they acquire a certain knowledge of one or more trades, and are thus prepared for their apprcnticesl)ip when old enough. It appears that these Schools produce the very happiest ejects; of one of them which contain^ three hundred cliildren, the Birmingham Asylum, it is said that no instance is known of a child brought up within its walls afterwards becoming a Pauper. The Infant Schools arc admirable institutions, and it is scarcely possible to speak too highly of them as the meann of rescuing thou- sands of young children from tho contamination of the streets, and of giving them that early training in habits of order and obedience which so materially and so beneficially influence their future life. They owe their establishment to the zeal and Philantropy of Mr. Roberl Owen, who opened tho first of them at Lanark in 1816. They have rapidly increased and are now numerous though not •ufl&ciently so when compared with the Infant population. The total 18 number of children in England and Wales between the agesof ttro ond seven having been calculated at tvtro railiiona. The Day Schools are for the most part conducted in accordance with what is termed the Bel! and Lancaster system, they are called National Schools if they adhere to Dr. Bell's plans, and British Sahrnjls if they have ad M^ted Mr. Lancaster's modifications. The monitorial system is common to both. In all, ihn Education pro- fessedly given goes no farther than Headings, Writing, the elements of Ariiltmetic and a competent knowledge of the Scriptures. In Some of the British Schools the Education extends to Geography. The Sunday Schools are very numerous, the number of scholars attending them has been calculated at nine hundred thousand; they depend i'or their supply of Teachers on the voluntary services of the young men and women belonging to different religious con- grcgations; and as generally speaking there is one Teacher to every ten or twelve Scholars, their number cannot bo less then seventy or eighty thousand. The Education given in these Schools is almost invariably confined to Ueading only; in a very few Writing and Arithmatic are added. Wo now come to those Schools which I think particularly worthy of your attention. These are the Schools of Industry, or such as mix manual labour under qualified instructors, with the ordinary business of School Education. With reference to Schools of this description a writer of eminence on Education says, *' So high indeed is our opinion of this improvement, and so beneficial the results that we anticipate from its introduction, that singular as the speculation may appear to some, we cannot but hope to see the day when instead of being confined to a very few Schools, and these without exception of the humbler class, the use of productive labor as a means of Education will be generally adopted in Schools for all classes, the highest as well as the lowest. Its introduction wa are persuaded will under good management be followed in all cases by a most salutary effect as well on the health and comfort of the Scholas, as on their moral feelings and mental vigor." The chief establishments of this kind are, the one in Gower's Walk, Whitechapel, in the very heart of London, containing upwards of two hundred children, one half of whom are boys, at- tending seven hours per day, four of which are given to the usual business of the School, viz.: Reading, writing, and Arithmetic; the remaining three aro employed, by the girls in Needlework, and by the boys irn Printing, with this restriction that no boy is allowed to ir 1; ! f n I r." in joto the claas of Printers (a pi*iviiegc much coveted) until he can Head, Write, and Cypher with a certain degree of facility. Thig regulation acts very benelicially in furnishing a iiiutive for increased diligence in the school-room. The Printers, in number about sixty are divided into three classes; one class being always in the Print, ing Oifice, and the others in the .school-room. Thus the boys" are rel'reshed and relieved by an nlternatiun of manual and mental labour, and both the school-room and the Printing Oiilcu are con- stantly occupied. The writer before alluded to goes on to say, "We were much pleased by the scene of life and bustle among the little Printers. No lolling, no yawning, no wistful looks at the slow moving hands of the clock; the signs of cheerful industry were visible in every face, were apparent in the quick motion of every limb." It appears that this School has existed un its present footing for more than thirty years. The building xvas applied to its present use by the benevolent and enlightened tbunder of the School, who also endowed the School with the sum of £-2000. The income arising from this sum, £G0 a year, and the use of the buildmg rent free, are all that interfere with the self-supporting character of the eestablishment. Yet with this moderate help is a School carried on .in which two hundred children receive a comparatively good Edu- htcd at hearing (perhaps for tho firet time in their lives) the voice of kindness and intelligence, frequently yield without a struggle, and enter at once on a course of good conduct. The most thoroiighl/ lazy and troublesome boys who como to tho School are from tho Workhouses. These children whoso experi- ence has probably taught them to consider throats os mcro idle vapouring, commence with disbelieving that in their new situotion W ' i n ^ 1 * 1 i. W \ M t fa 16 If ¥ labour alone will entitle thetn to food. " I don't come here to work" is muttered with the usual doggedness. In such a case the boy is allDived to take his course: his companions go at the regular hour to tlleir work, and a portion h allctted to him also — so much digging pprhap3, or any other lask of h simple kind. This he may neglect if ha pleases and so long as he chooses; but he finds that until it is completed no dinner is ready for him. After n time nature gains the mastery and the boy sets to work; and it rarely happens that he tries the experiment of obstinacy a second time. The shortness of the tim« usually passed in this Asylum renders it difKcuit for the boys to acquire such skill in cultivating land as would enable them to do much towards defraying the cost of their maintenance, but they do however raise a crop which more thaa repays the cost of the land and all the expenses of its cultivation. Nor is this all the labour they perform, for they do all the washing, cleaning, cooking, and other household work, and repair their own clothes and shoes under the care of Journeymen who attend to teach them. In the School they h-ve Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, and in- struction is carefully given on the meaning of words, and on other subjects calculated to awaken the intellectual powers. The buys all look forward with eagerness to the time when they are to go out as emigrants. Doubtless this desire is in some mea- sure based on the tone of novelty, the wish for adventure, the admi- ration of what is unknown: in few instances alas! is it restrained by any strong bonds of affection, any ties of love that bind them to the scenes and partners of their former life. But perhaps tho change derives its greatest attraction from that regulation of tho establishment which H.llots early departure as a mode of distinction and a reward for good conduct. The boys are divided into three classes, from the highest of which the emigrants oro drafted. Promotion depends principally on moral improvement; but a boy is not admitted to the highest class until he has mado a certain progress in Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, and can handle his farming tools tolerably well. Tho other Schools of Industry which I shall mention aro the refuge for the destitute at Ha.xton, and the Warwick County Asylum; ihe former containing about one hundred and fifty of both sexes; the latter u smaller number. In addition to Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, the boys are taught the trades of Tailor end Shoemaker. f they mea- admi- :ratned hem to 3 tho of tho nction three rafted, a boy ertain !lo his 17 The last to which I shall aUtide i» Allin'i School at Litidfield, in Sussex, for the children of the Peasantry, It in attended by no less than three hundred, one hundred of whom form an Infant School in a separate building, and tho remaining two hundred are divided according to sex. The children are at School eight houri each day, three being employed in manual labour, and five in the oidinary School exer- cise. There is provision for a diverHity of tfiites in the classes of industry; some are employed a» Shoemakeri, others as Tailors; and others again at Platting, Basket-making, weaving, Printing, Gardening or Farming. The iirst employment to which the little workers are put is platting straw, whon perffct in thin, they arc promoted to some other craft; the one of highcit dignity being that of Printer. Before leaving the School a child will often become tolerably expert in three or four tradtts, Those who work on the Farm have each the sole care of a plot of land measuring one- eighth of an acre, and each is required to do hi« own digging, sowing, manuring, and reaping; an intelligent huibandmun is on the ground to teach those who are at fault. Eadi boy is allowed one-half of the produce for himself, (ho other half being paid for the use of the land, the wear and tear of toolf*, &c. Of course the practical knowledge to bo ucquired on a niiniaturo Farm of this kind would not ho sufficiunt in itielf to lit u boy for the cultivation of land upon that large scale on which ulone it can be tilled to the greatest advantage, still he will have learned much that will be of direct use to him on a Farm of any ei/e; and what is far more important he will have acquired habits of industry, in- telligent observation, and forethought; and thus prepared, ho will learn as much in a few months as the dull and ignorant boy whose only training has been in the hovel or at tho plough, will acquire in as many years. Schools of this description are also to bo found in many places on the Continent, The one founded by deFellenberg ia the most remarkable in Europe, it is situated at Hofwyl, six miles from Berne in Switzerland, and consists of i)50 acres of land entirely cultivated by his pupils. This estobli#hment besides other Schools for different classes of society, contains an Industrial School numbering six hundred and si,\ty'0n6 pupils. Tho chief characteristics of which arc the combination of industry with in- struction. As in after-life bodily exertion mutt occupy the largest proportion of a working-man's time, it is made to occupy the larger portion of the day in the Education in this School. Intellectual c ! I I'll ^r-Hk. 19 *>/ , \M 41 ■I ; M P instruction occupies only a comparatively sliort period so as to become a relaxation rather than a task. The industrial employ- ments are varied with the ages and strength of the children and are superintended in such a manner as to secure the habit of performing each skilfully ; indeed the arrangements are such as to permit the children while labouring to receive instruction in various arts which must necessarily be of service to them both in the economy of their own cottages, and in making them more valuable as labourers. Thus the use of Carpenter's and Smith's tools, the management of a garden, the care of Horses and Cattle each in its turn engages the attention of the children, thus giving them independance by rendering them capable of supplying themselves with many things which they could not purchase, while it enables them to occupy with advantage many a long winter's evening, or day which would otherwise be spent in listleness if not in mischief. Beyond the usual routine of Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, the children also obtain such an acquaintance with all those pro- perties of bodies by which they are surrounded as can be turned by them practically to account; Mechanics, Cheniisty, so far as it relates to Agriculture, Natural History, Botany, Geology, Mensu- ration, Geography form a part of their instruction; not however in a pedantic manner under the title of Chemistry, Natural History,. &c. but as facts relating to the bodies by uhich they are surrounded which it is necessary for them to know in order that they may avoid pernicious errors. The pedantry of knowledge belongs only to man studying for display, not to man stuilying because knowledge is a power of which he stands in need. The profits of the children are made to pay the e.xpenses of Edu- cation. In order to secure a return fr>m them which will remune- rate him for his outlay Mr. de Fellenberg stipulates that they shall remain with him until 21 years of ago; thus their labour in the latter years repays his previous expenditure during their youth. There is also a Farmer's School in which the scientific part of Education is carried much farther. Gieat attention is there paid to Agriculture both in theory and practice while the pupils are expected to labour in all the departments of the Institution. The children in the School pay a small annual sum for their Education. The estate around the Institution is so managed as to form a Model Farm to the Country; all the most approved Agricuhural imple- ments invented in England, Scotland, Belgium, and other Countries are manufactured at the Institution for sale to the Agriculturalists in Switzerland. A kind F of this Pro< to for the E think that it udvantageoi in which at might recei effectually j enable them engage in th stances and every prospe received, wo the developei good moral p I should pi Industrial Sc tract of Lan( direction of would form o resources of { to the tillage all that wouU subject, and best advanta every descrip sary they shoi I would add ^ learn so muc the manufacti them uponou of skill in the to dispense w In the Sc Arithmetic; grnphy and o practical one a field, of me 'n a stack, should delive applied to Ai 19 A kind Provideuce hat dealt so bouutifuVlj \ ith the inhabitasts of this Province that such Institutions as those I have just nlhided to for the Education of Paupers, are happily not required, but I do think that it would be possible, nay, that it would be exceedingly advantageous to form one or more establishments on a similar plan, in which at a very trifling expense, the youth of New Brunswick might receive such a really useful practical Education as would efTectually prepare them for their future career in life — as would enable them, so soon as that Education whs finished, at once to engage in the pursuit of that particular employment which circum- stances and inclination induced them to adopt; and to do so with every prospect af success, because the training they would have received, would offer every guarantee which sound instruction and the developement of every mental and physical energy united with good moral principles could afford. nrii>:ii f' I should propose then the formation of at least one Agriculturat Industrial School or College, to which should be attached a large tract of Land, which it would be the duty of the pupils under the direction of an able superintendent to bring into cultivation; I would form of this a Model Farm and bring to bear upon it all the resources uf art, all the improvements of modern Science as applied to the tillage of the ground. By this means the popils would learn all that would be needful for thom to know on this very important subject, and be perfectly competent to farm their own land to the best advantage; I would secure the very best breeds of Stock of every description, and the pupils should be taught all that is neces- sary they should know concerning their treatment and management. I would add Work Shops of various descriptions where they might learn so much of the construction of Farming Implements, and of the manufacture and repair of Farming Machines as should qualify them upon occasions to do their own work, or acquire such a degree of skill in the handling of Carpenter's Tools as should enable them to dispense with that artificer's assistance. In the Schools they should be taught Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, tbey should acquire a thorough knowledge of Geo- graphy and of the best method of keeping farm accounts, and a practical one of the readiest and most correct method of Surveying a field, of measuring Timber, of ascertaining the quantity of Hay in a stack, or of manure in n dung heap. Talented Professors should deliver plain and intelligible Lectures on Chemistry as applied to Agriculture, on Bctany so as to teach the nature and 'I'. i'; 11 II I i) I'M m) 1 Ml I if. It I * m qualitiea of Planti, on Maetianics llial they might not be ignorant of the best methoil o( applying the different powers, on Anatomy that they might undersUnU (bo construction and economy of the human frame, and a Veterinary Sur^reon should teach them how to treat the diseases to which Cattle are liable; add to this a good useful course of History, and such a facility in composition as would ensure their being able to write a letter on business with facility. Such is the crude and undigested outline of what I should be truly happy to see in active operation. Such is the plan upon which it is my (irm belief that Education can best be conducted in (his Young Province. This, or something like this, would soon provide each County with intelligent and skilful Agriculturists, fully prepared to utilize and to make the most of the vast resources of the soil, to develop oil its latent powers, to use without exhausting (hem, to increase or to renew its fertility, and to reap (he rich reward of their judicious industry. Then would the Province of New Brunswick finding in its own bosom enough and more than enough to supply its wants, cease (o be dependant as it nowjs upon other States for the chief articles of consumption, and rapidly rise (o that enviable position which must naturally result from the well directed energy of its inhabitants. I do fervently hope thot sonto person better qualified than I am, and who is more likoly to obtain attention, will endeavour to effect something in accordance with what I have (his evening had (he honor to submit to you. I have abstained from all statistical de- tails, which would most likely have proved uninteresting, but I think I may safely say that all the good I have proposed might be effected by a trifling outlay in the first instance, and that under proper management, the annual expenses would be very small, if not entirely covered by (ho produce of iiidus(rial labour. To this establishment organized as I have said 1 would add a Training School for Teachers, so as to secure to the whole Pro- vince a set of well educated and well qualified Masters for (he Parish Schools. They should be required (o attend for periods varying in length according to the nature of (he Cer(ificate they were anxious to obtain ; not less in any case than si.\ months, nor more perhaps than twelve. I would have them take a part in (he exercises of the School, in all the occupations of thn Farm and Work Shops, and after a time employ (hem daily in (he exercise of (heir Profession, The bonencial results o( such a course of (mining as (his a occupy leaving j observinj most rei knowlcdc not endei gators, r very gou sciences class, wi Grammai Educatioi their meri been aflo they are < mation I < one wi(h same ordi cer(aiii th exigenciei needs no | well earui (hat the l\ convinced of the tale those of b sics, and of incideri them vvell, metic; the the good ( Bishop of I would fee of their ati they write important School sta the well k Masters, visitors ar 21 as this are so sell-eviileiit that I nac ,iy no more here- nor will I occupy your time with any further discussion of the suhjt^ct — leaving it as I said before to abler hands and to ab}cr heads, nierelv obserTing that it would ensure precisely the qualitications which am most required in Teachers, precisely the amount of practical knowledge which it is desirable to impart to the young. I would not endeavour to make them all Mathematicians, or expert Navi- gators, rightly considering that Algebra and NavigRtion are not in very general demand in the back«voods, and that the study of these sciences »ught properly to be confined to the Schools of a higher class, where those who wish to acquire them may ea'sily do su. Grammar Schools are to be met with in every County, in which Education of a higher grade can be obtained; I cannot speak of their merits from personal observrtion because no facilities have ever been aftorded roe of acquiring n knowledge of the mode in which tUey are conducted, and I havu been obliged to pick up what infor- mation I could from hearsay, but if they at all resemble the only one with which / am personally acquainted, if they are of the same order of high excellence as the one in this City, then it is certain that they are well calculated to meet and to supply all the exigencies of the Scholar. The Collegiate School at Fredericton needs no praise of mine and nothing that I can say will increase its well earned fame, but I may I hope without presumption assert, (hat the four Public examinaticn which 1 have attended, have fully convinced mo that the attainments of the pupils are not unwoilhy of the talent of the Masters, and that they in many respects exceed thoso of boys of the same ago in England. They learn the Clas- sics, and at the same time have their attention directed to a mass of incidental information; they icarn the Mathematics, and learn them well, but not until th«y have a thorough knowledge of Arith- metic; they study Geography and History, and any one who had the good fortune to be present on a late occasion when the Lord Bishop of the Diocese examined thetn on these important branches, Avould feel perfectly satisfied with the amount and with the quality of their attainments, while a perusal of the very creditable Essays they write would convince the reader that composition is made as important a feature as it deserves to be. As I before observed, this School stands in no need of testimonials to establish its excellence; the well knotvn talent, .and the constant and untiring zeal of the Masters, the high character and the distinjguished ability of its visitors ana examiners, and the unanimous approval of all whose r i '^ ', H i; t •;( r ■ pt P' • opinion is worth kfiviMg, &re uiore than vufhcierit to Jo tliia It it LLDown by its wurks, uioi^t vaiiieB »ljere must known, tiiti»t ajipre- ciated where beM understood, and it is my (ervont hope that reaisting- Hd it will ever do the attacks of ignorance and malignity it may loiiiT iiourish at tlie head of the Grammar Schuoli of New Jtrtins- tvick. A I'cw words upon matters as they now are with uv. The general -complaint made by the Teachers of our Pnridh bchool«, is that Parents are themselves regardleas of the hlcsdings of Education, that they are not sensible of the immonso benefits which instruction will confer on their children, that tlicy arc hoedlcKH of the immense injury which the neglect of it inflicts upon them, Ttlany Teachers who have been in cominunicution with me since their departure from the Training School, teil mo that they find a iirst claiiufi Certificate a positive bar to their engagement, for they are told that siuce they receive jE30 a year oi a Provincial allow* unce, they can afford to teach much cheaper than they did when the Government only paid them £'2ti. Others who advance their claims to higher remuneration because they have obtained a first class Certificate arc informed that they are not wanted, a third class Teacher will do very well for us lay the eubscribers; and thus it i-i that an inferior man has a better chance of employment than a really good one. This is a monstroue evil, and is calculated to sap the foundation of Educational success; unlcs' parents will avail themselves of the facilities afforded them for the better teaching and training of their children, unless they cordially and zealously co-operate with the Teacher ond thankfully profit by the opportunity afforded them of securing an intcUigant nnd skilful man, unless when engaged, they do every thing in their power to promote his comfort, to supply him with whatever books or appa- ratus he may require for his School; unless they provide him with u well built comfortable School-house, and above all unless they treat him with respect and teach their children so (o treat him likewise, they neglect their duty as parents and citizens, and ren- der themselves heavily responsible both to God and man. Look at the miserable huts which in many parts of the Country are made to answer the purpose of a School, many of them in such a state that every wind of Heaven has free cntrunco, so small, so inconyeni» 23 important dutica, he must taacli .Keading and Spelling without Books, Geography without Maps, Grammar without Grammars, and oftentimes Writing and Cyphering without Paper or Slates. To these almost overwhelming ditliculties must be added that which is caused by the very Irequent absence ot' many ot'thc pupils who are thus thrown out of their class, and compelled to lag behind the rest, or to skip the lessons they have omitted, in order to bu U'p with them; for these absences any triHing excuse is made to serve. But parents who do not hesitate to keep their children at home upon the most frivolous pretences, are guilty of inilictin<^ serious injury on them, and of doing great injustice to the Teacher who cannot of course under such circumstances ensure the pro-* gress of his pupils. --.H •• m? •• . All ihis evil arises I fear from the fact that the great utility of well conducted Parish Schools is not truly appreciated, and yet as Education must in many cases be the only fortune which parents can leave their children, one would naturally expect that they would on the contrary value them most highly; but this is evidently not the ca$e nor will it be, until some system of assessment for the pur- poses of Education he adopted. First, — By a general assessment on all Property within tho Parish or School District, on the principle that as Education is a matter in which the public good is concerned, every inhabitant ought to contribute to it in proportion to his means. Secondly, — By a grant from the Government of the Province, which grant should never exceed the amount of what is levied by local assessment. Thirdly, — By the payments from the parents; for the reason that what people get for nothing they are apt not to value highly. Such a system as this would soon teach thw people to value what they are compelled to pay for, and they would speedily learn that a giod Teacher is better than a bad one, and take good care to se- cure the best for their money. In conclusion I wish to address a few words to tho Teachers oi this Province, who are I fear in many respects responsible for much of the evil of whicl* they complain. If union be strength, and dis- union weakness, well may tho Teachers bo a feeble body, for the spirit which animates them is indeed tho spirit of jealousy, confu- sion hnd strife; agreeing in nothing but to disagree, each mait abuses his neighbour and seems more earnestly aiixiou.s to lower hiirl, than to raiso him«clf; and thus it ia Chat Teachers are not ,"> K"' ^y. 1^ ! , ■ 3 f f'l 4\ : W ',.' i m- oClCL' N P r • 1 4. ! jy ► i looked upon with that respect, nor trented with that consideration which ii due to them as men entrusted with the sacred tasi( of training and instructing the yonng. Ni> one will respect a man unless he respect himself, and enforce the gond will and the good opinion of all hy his conduct. In Ger- many, in Hulland, and in many parts of the Continent there is no Profession that ranks higher than that of a Schoolmaster, and a nobleman would scarcely, if at all, command more respect than is paid to many of those who devote their lives to the instruction of youth; true it is that in those Countries the Government and the people are alike impressed with t!ie immense advantages resulting from Kducation, but it is equally certain that unless the character of the Teachers entitled them to consideration, it would not be ac- corded to them; that unless they showed themselves fully sensible of *,he dignity and importance of their office, and maintained it by every oHurt in their power, it would never be so generally acknow- ledged. It is then the duty and the interest of the Teachers of the re**-'-* -^ Province to exert themselves to the utmost to which they belong j,j , \ fr 't» public opinion, and this cannot be ctFected unless all will agree ' t J work togetliBr for good, to dismiss from their minds and from tiieir hearts all petty feelings, and to unite as one man in the prosecution of those mcasurcji which are best calculated to estab- "" ^, lish their own respectability as a body, and to secure the esteem and respect of their employers. Let them form Associations throughout the Province, establishing such wise and judicious regulations as shall secure n proper position to all good men, and the instant dismissal of every bad one; let this be so conducte' ;i