ON BEHALF OF THOMAS MOORE M.A WTt^ THE EDUCATION BRIEF ON BEHALF OF VOLUNTARY SCHOOLS Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from ' IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/educationbriefonOOmoorrich THE Education Brief ON BEHALF OF ' ' '^ i I ^"i VOLUNTARY SCHOOLS BY THOMAS MOORE, M.A. author of "the englishman's brief on behalf of his national church" LONDON THE CHURCH EXTENSION ASSOCLYTION 5 AND 6 PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C. 1890 v*"^ l>^ ->■ w \ sT PREFACE. A CONFLICT has long been carried on in the field of National Education, which, there is every reason to believe, may at any time be pressed to an issue. The issue at stake involves the following questions : ^ 1. Shall Voluntary Schools continue to be recognised by Parliament, and aided by its annual grants, as supplying one branch, at present the largest, of the educational provi- sion of the country ? or, 3. Shall Voluntary Schools be entirely deprived of the Government aid necessary to their continued existence, and Board Schools be built and maintained in their stead, at the expense of the rates, in every parish in the kingdom ? d 785484 VI PREFACE. 3. Shall religious instruction and moral training continue to be regarded as neces- sary parts of elementary education in Volun- tary and Board Schools, of which parents may avail themselves for their children, should they desire so to do ? or, 4. Shall religious instruction and moral training be altogether excluded from the education given in the public elementary schools of the country, or be left as a matter of uncertainty dependent upon the changing decisions of School Boards ? 5. If free education be granted shall it be on conditions that will not cripple the in- comes of Voluntary Schools, infringe upon their present deeds of management, nor restrict the existing statutory rights of their managers to give religious instruction to scholars, subject only to the provisions of the conscience clause ? These questions will probably have to be de- cided by the present Parliament, or, failing to be so decided, will have to be submitted to the elec- tors of the kingdom who will decide them for PREFACE. Vn themselves, and instruct their Parliamentary repre- sentatives to give effect to their wishes in the Legislature. The Brief is written for that section of the public who have no opportunities of referring to the sources from which the information therein contained is derived. It presents an outline statement of facts, figures and arguments on behalf of the retention and maintenance of Voluntary Schools. It shows : 1. The great work achieved by Voluntary Schools in the past, in educating the children of the poor and the working-classes, even long before the State took any steps in their behalf ; 2. The large provision which Voluntary Schools now make for the school supply of the country ; 3. The economy which characterises their expenditure with respect to building, man- agement and maintenance, when compared with Board Schools. 4. The vast annual expenditure which is VUl PREFACE. saved to the ratepayers by the maintenance of Voluntary Schools. 5. The enormous primary outlay that would be required, were Voluntary Schools abolished, to build Board Schools in their stead in every parish in the land, the whole of which outlay would have to be borne by the ratepayers. 6. The additional heavy and increasing charge upon the rates that would be neces- sary to defray the annual cost of a system of universal School Boards. The Brief is founded exclusively upon the Reports of the Royal Commissioners ons Educa- tion, and the Reports of the Education Depart- ment for 1 888-1 889, and the Estimate of expen- diture of the School Board of London for the financial year to be ended March 25th, 1891, from which authoritative sources of information the facts and figures therein contained are derived. The conclusions of the Royal Commissioners relative to the subjects dealt with in the BRIEF are frequently quoted as corroborative of the arguments advanced in its pages. PREFACE. IX The tables of statistics extracted from the Reports of the Education Department for 1888- 1889, in chapter xiv. of the Brief are especially recommended to the careful study of the reader. Besides being instructive to the general public, the tables will be found useful for reference and quotation by those who may be called upon to speak or write on the all-absorbing question of what shall.be the future form of public elementary education. The conclusions to which the tables lead, in favour of Voluntary Schools, are powerful and con- vincing. , Explanations are prefixed to each table, whereby the reader may readily understand how best to use them for his own instruction, and how most effectually to turn them to account in communicating information to others upon this most important educational question. A most copious SYNOPTICAL Index is ap- pended to the Brief. If the reader will consult it, he will be able promptly to find the facts, figures and arguments of which he may specially X PREFACE. require to avail himself in his study of the many phases of this momentous subject. It has been impossible to avoid the repetition of some facts and figures in the treatment of the subjects, as they have had to be referred to in the different sections of the work, in dealing with the various phases of the educational question. The thanks of the author are due to several friends interested in the Education question for the kind assistance which they have rendered to him in the revision of the proof sheets. To the Venerable B. F. Smith, M.A., Arch- deacon of Maidstone, Member of the recent Royal Commission on Elementary Education, the author is not only specially indebted for this favour, but also for important suggestions which have added greatly to the value of the work. July j8go. CONTENTS. CITAP. .... I AGE I. THE ORIGIN OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION WAS, IN ITS CHARACTER, VOLUNTARY, RELIGIOUS, AND DENOMINATIONAL I II. SOME PROVISIONS OF THE EDUCATION ACTS, 187O TO 1880 15 III. PROVISION FOR ELEMENTARY EDUCATION EXISTING IN 1886 45 IV. THE SUPPLY OF SCHOOL ACCOMMODATION . . 5 1 V. MANAGEMENT OF VOLUNTARY SCHOOLS AND BOARD SCHOOLS '72 VI. THE FEDERATION OF VOLUNTARY SCHOOLS . . 81 VII. FREE EDUCATION 88 VIII. TRAINING COLLEGES FOR DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS I18 IX. RELIGIOUS AND MORAL TRAINING . . . .122 X. THE ABSOLUTE NECESSITY OF RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION ; BY WHOM AND HOW TO BE GIVEN . . . I42 XI. THE CONSCIENCE CLAUSE ...... 168 Xll CONTENTS. CHAP. PA6R XII. SOME FINDINGS OF THE ROYAL COMMISSIONERS REFERRING TO SUBJECTS DEALT WITH IN THE TRECEDING PAGES 177 XIII. IN WHICH SOME OF THE CHIEF FACTS AND ARGU- MENTS SET FORTH IN THE PRECEDING CHAPTERS ARE PRESENTED IN A POPULAR FORM . . . 187 XIV. STATISTICAL TABLES OF THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT FOR 1 888-1889, AND THE LESSONS WHICH SUCH TABLES TEACH 227 XV. STATISTICS OF PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS FROM 1st SEPTEMBER, 1888 TO 31st AUGUST, 1889, AND THE BUDGET OF THE LONDON SCHOOL BOARD FOR THE YEAR TO BE ENDED 25th MARCH, 1 89 1 266 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. o CHAPTER I. THE ORIGIN OP ELEMENTARY EDUCATION WAS, IN ITS CHARACTER, VOLUNTARY, RELIGIOUS, AND DENOMINATIONAL. I. Elementary Education of Voluntary, not of State, Origin. The inauguration of the system of Elementary Education did not originate with the State, but with private indi- viduals. It was subsequently undertaken and chiefly carried on by two great educational societies — namely, the British and Foreign School Society, founded in 1808, and the National Society, founded in 181 1. Both these societies were, in their early efforts to educate the children of the poor, supported entirely by voluntary contribu- tions. It was the remarkable and successful efforts of individual advocates of elementary education, combined A 2 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. with the successfully organised operations of the two societies named, that called the attention of the State to the subject, and impressed it with a sense of the impor- tance of the work of educating the children of the poorer classes — a work which so deeply concerned the individual interests of its own subjects and its own well-being and prosperity. In 1816, a Committee appointed by the House of Commons, with Lord Brougham — then Mr. Brougham — as chairman, reported their conclusion that '* a very large number of the poor children were wholly without means of instruction." It was owing to the Report of this Committee that the State first publicly asserted the fact that the education of the people was a matter in which it had a most vital concern, and led to its realising its responsibiUty and duty in the work of elementary education. First Government Grants and to what their Application was limited. In 1833 the Government undertook, for the first time, a share in elementary educational work, and made a grant towards it of ;2^2 0,000 a year, which it continued to pay down to 1839. This grant was devoted exclusively to the aiding of the erection of school-houses, and it was dis- tributed to applicants, on the recommendations of the two educational societies, as supplementary to the volun- tary contributions raised by such applicants in their several localities, for the work of school extension. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 5 Increase of Grants and the Creation of the Education Department. In 1839 the annual grant of ^20,000 was raised to ;^3o,ooo; and on the loth of April 1839 an Order in Council was issued appointing a Committee of the mem- bers of the Council to superintend^ for the future, the application of any sums voted by Parliament for the purpose of promoting public education. Conditions on which Grants were given. To show how economical and cautious the State was in aiding by its grants the efforts of volun- tary educationalists, it will suffice to call attention to the conditions on which each individual grant was given. The regulations laid down and scrupulously observed by the Government in the administration of its grants were : 1. That no portion of any grant should be applied to any purpose whatever except the erection of new school-houses, and that in the definition of ^^school- house" the residence for a master or attendants should not be included. 2. That no application should be entertained unless a sum should be raised by private contributions equal, at the least, to one-half of the total estimated expen- diture. 3. That the amount of private subscriptions should be received, expended, and accounted for, before any issue of public money for any school should be directed. 4. That no application should be complied with unless upon a consideration of such a report either from the 4 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. National Society, or the British and Foreign School Society as should satisfy the Government that the case was one deserving of attention, and that there was a reasonable expectation that the school would be perma- nently supported. 5. That the applicants whose cases should be favour- ably entertained should bind themselves to submit to any audit of accounts which the Government might direct, as well as to such periodical reports respecting the state of their schools and the number of scholars educated, as might be called for. 6. That in considering all applications made to the Board preference should be given to such applications as might come from large cities and towns in which the necessity of assisting in the erection of schools is most pressing; and that due inquiry should also be made, before any such application be acceded to, whether there might not be charitable funds or public or private endowments that might render further grants unneces- sary. Thus it will be seen that the primary money grants given by the Government in aid of elementary education were neither lavish in their amounts, nor recklessly expended. G-rants first made to Schools, not connected with the National Society or the British and Foreign School Society. On the 3rd of December, 1839, the Government enlarged the area within which it was willing to make grants in aid of the erection of school buildings. Hitherto it had distributed its grants exclusively on the THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 5 recommendations of the National Society and the British and Foreign School Society ; but in this year it expressed its readiness to aid in the erection of schools, not con- nected with either of these societies, in places where proof was given of the existence of a great deficiency in the provisions made for elementary education. Grants for School Maintenance— When first made. In the year 1846 a part of the annual Parliamentary grant given in aid of the elementary schools was, for the first time, applied directly to their maintenance. Grants were made in direct augmentation of the salaries of elementary teachers, the amount of which was regulated by the class of certificate which they held, and by the salaries they received from their managers ; while the payment of these grants was conditional on the annual report of the Government Inspectors as to the zeal and success of the teacher. Further allowances were made to those teachers by whom apprentices were being trained. Amount of Building Grants to 1846. The total amount granted by Government in aid of the building of schools between 1833 ^.nd 1846 was £9SSy3^S' The average grants extending over the whole of the period were about ;^i2o for each school assisted. The number of school buildings erected within this period, by the aid of a Parliamentary grant, was about 3,200 ; and within the same period it is estimated that about 1,300 additional schools were built without any Government aid whatsoever. 6 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Number of Scholars in 1846. In 1846 the number of scholars in Church schools in connection with the National Society was estimated at 911,834. The number of scholars in schools con- nected with the British and Foreign School Society amounted to upwards of 200,000. In the following year the work of the Roman Catholic Church in elementary education was for the first time recognised by the Committee of Council on Education ; and the Roman Catholic Poor School Committee was then estabhshed to represent the Roman Catholics of Great Britain ; while in 1850 the Wesleyan Body had 397 schools with 3Sj62^ scholars. Capitation Grants— When first made. Up to 1853, although grants were given for the augmentation of the stipend of the school teachers, no direct payments had as yet been made out of the Parliamentary grant, towards the annual income of the schools. By a Minute of the Committee of Council, dated 2nd April, 1853, it was, however, provided that on condition of a fixed number of attendances being made by a child in a school in an agricultural district or in an unincorporate town not containing more than 5,000 inhabitants, a capitation grant would be paid to the school funds on its behalf. This grant was intended to be in lieu of aid which it had been proposed to give to schools of unincorporate towns out of the local rates. Shortly after this period the limitation of the Government grant to schools, in agricultural districts and unincorporate towns, was dis- THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 7 continued, and a maintenance grant placed within the reach of all inspected schools, incidentally serving as a premium on regularity of attendance. Total Government Grants for School Buildings, from 1839 to 1860. The total amount of grants between 1839 and i860 was ;£'4,378,i83 4^. g^d. ; but of this amount only ^1,047,648 ijs. S^d. was expended on the building, enlarging, repairing, and furnishingof elementary schools. II. The Origin of Elementary Education was Religious. It has been shown that the origin of elementary educa- tion was owing to voluntary effort, to whatever extent the Government may have subsequently aided and subsidised the work. It is now to be shown that its origin was also religious. For this purpose it is sufficient to state that the two societies which undertook the work of bringing Elementary Education within the reach of the children of the poor and of the working classes were especially religious in their aims. Religious instruc- tion was, therefore, an essential part of the education given in their schools. b THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Wherein the two Societies differed in their Religious Teaching. The societies differed only as to the character of the religious instruction to be imparted and the form in which it should be given. The British and Foreign School Society adopted as its programme of religious instruction strictly undenominational teaching, that is to say, while giving general religious instruction it would not inculcate, nor allow to be taught in any of its schools, any doctrine or dogma distinctive of any religious body. Its very position in the work of elementary education, as the representative of several religious bodies, left it no other course to pursue. The National Society, however, as representing the whole of the Church of England in the work of elemen- tary education insisted, as it was authorised to do, that the religious instruction given within Church schools in union with itself, should be of a definite and distinctive character, and should include the Catechism and Book of Common Prayer, and should be generally in accord- ance with the teachings and principles of the Church of England. But the point at present to be made clear is, that both societies insisted on religious instruction being an essential part of the education to be given in every school under their superintendence, or in union with them ; and, further, that all Parliamentary grants should be given by the Government, and received by such schools, on this distinct and express understanding. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 9 The Government made its Grants exclusively on the Condition that Religious Instruction should be an Essential Part of Elementary Education. The Government recognised the supreme importance of reUgious instruction as being an essential part of elementary education. In a Minute of the Committee of Council dated 24th September, 1839, it laid down, as one of the principles to guide it in giving its assistance in the work, that "no plan of education ought to be encouraged in which intellectual instruction is not subordinated to the regulation of the thoughts and habits of the children by the doctrines and precepts of revealed religion." To show how strongly the Government adhered to this rule which they had laid down for their guidance, it is suffi- cient to point out that, in reply to an application made to the Committee of Council in 1853 for a Government grant in aid of a secular school, the Education Depart- ment stated that education grants had not hitherto been applicable to schools exclusively secular, and that they, the Committee, believed that such a decision was in accordance with the views of the great majority of the promoters of education. Under these circumstances they had no intention of rescinding the rule on which they had hitherto acted. "^ * Report of the Duke of Newcastle's Commission, page 206. lO THE EDUCATION F.RTEF. III. The Origin of Elementary Education was Denominational. It has been shown that the origin of elementary educa- tion was voluntary and religious. It has now to be shown that it was also denominational. Attempts were made by the Committee of Council on Education, in 1839, to found a Normal School on a foundation suffi- ciently broad to comprehend within the programme of its religious teaching " such truths of Christianity as are common to all Christian Communions in England." These attempts proved an entire failure. It was found in this, as in other branches of the work of elementary education, that if it was to be carried on successfully it must be left to the Church, and the various religious bodies outside her Communion, to formulate and regu- late the religious instruction given within their own schools according to their own particular ideas. The conclusion arrived at by the Education Depart- ment, after the failure of successive attempts to carry out the plan indicated, is stated in the follow- ing words : — " The Committee, however, experience so much difficulty in reconciling conflicting views respecting the provisions which they are desirous to make, in fur- therance of your Majesty*s wish that the children and teachers instructed in this school should be duly trained in the principles of the Christian religion, while the rights of conscience should be respected, that it is not in the power of the Committee to mature a plan for the accom- plishment of this design without further consideration, THE EDUCATION BRIEF. .II and they therefore postpone taking any steps for this purpose until greater concurrence of opinion is found to prevail." "^ No other course was thus left to the Government than to help education on the already existing lines of denominational religious teaching. In fact, the experience acquired by the Government between 1839 and 1842, as to the difficulties of attempting to regulate religious instruction on such a broad and in- definite basis, led the Committee of Council to rely henceforth for the growth and extension of national education chiefly upon the voluntary efforts of individuals and the religious zeal of each denomination, aided by Government grants. Government Proposal of " Management Clauses " in Trust Deeds of Church of England Schools. In 1847, the Committee of Council proposed for insertion in the Trust Deeds of the Church of England schools receiving Government building grants, provisions which were called " management clauses." The object of these clauses was to secure for lay subscribers to such schools a due share in their management. These pro- posed clauses evoked much difference of opinion. Hitherto the right and privilege of determining the con- stitution of the management of Chnrch schools had rested with their founders alone ; and, this being so. Churchmen were naturally very jealous of any attempt on the part of the State to interfere with the provisions of their Trust Deeds as a condition of its giving building grants, quite independent of any consideration as to * Report of Committee of Council on Education, 3rd June, 1839. 12 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. whether the proposed management clauses would or would not be an improvement in the superintendence and general management of the schools. It was altogether a new thing for the State directly to interfere in the question of education ; and as the result of this intervention of the Committee of Council in the matter of the management of schools, an immense amount of strong opposition to the manage- ment clauses was called forth. The State was regarded as desiring to introduce new machinery of its own for the promotion of the instruction of the people ; whereas the Church and religious denominations maintained their exclusive right to be recognised as the authorised agencies for this purpose. Education, it was said, was beyond the sphere of Government. For several years after 1846 efforts of various kinds were made to dispense with assistance which involved such State interference, and a large section of Nonconformists contended as earnestly as did Churchmen and Roman Catholics for the principle that education must be kept strictly within voluntary lines, and free from State control. Indeed, some Nonconformists as well as Churchmen altogether resisted the control of the State, declined its aid, and attempted to carry on their respective schools entirely on the voluntary system. Although the Government succeeded in obtaining the insertion of their proposed clauses in trust deeds of schools whose erection was aided by their grants, still, in passing through the ordeal of opposition which their proposals had met, they undoubtedly learnt the lesson that it would not be politic, in the interests of the progress of education, to interfere to any great extent THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 13 with religious denominational freedom in the matter of the management of elementary schools. And it is stated by Sir J. K. Shuttleworth that the intention of the Com- mittee of Council was to give an impulse to the growth and improvement of the system founded by the religious communions, and that the grants were made under con- ditions which drew all religious communions, in the main, except the Congregationalists and Baptists, into co-operation with the Government, and succeeded in founding the vast denominational system which formally established popular education upon a religious basis.* It may also be said that the management clauses of 1846, which provided for the appointment of lay subscribers on the Committees for superintending and controlling national schools, although very much opposed at the time, have since greatly helped to strengthen the denominational system. Conscience Clause. As time went on Churchmen, by their extraordinary zeal and liberality in the work of elementary education, had to a great extent taken possession of the educational ground by covering a large part of the country with their schools. It was alleged that Nonconformists made complaints that the religious instruction given within these schools was not such as they desired their children to receive. Consequently, in 1862 and ^1863, it was proposed that a conscience clause should be inserted in the trust deed of every school the erection of which was to be aided by a Parliamentary grant, in districts * Final Report of Royal Commission, p. 10. 14 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. where there was no room for a second school to meet the alleged wants of Nonconformists. The terms of the clause in question, as commu- nicated by the Education Department to the National Society, on 8th February 1864, were: "The said Com- mittee (that is, of schools accepting the clause) shall be bound to make such orders as shall provide for admitting to the benefits of the schools, the children of parents not in communion with the Church of England as by law established, but such orders shall be confined to the exemption of such children, if their parents desire it, from attendance at public worship and from instruction in the doctrines and formularies of the said Church ; and shall not otherwise interfere with the religious teaching of the said scholars .... and shall not authorise any other religious instruction to be given in the school." Though the clause was, in the first instance, anything but welcome to the managers of Church schools on the ground of its being regarded as an attempt on the part of the State to regulate religious instruction, yet in cases where it was adopted, it has worked satisfactorily on the whole. It did not restrict the Church's liberty of religious teaching, while it protected those Nonconformist parents who claimed under it, exemption for their children from religious instruction. CHAPTER II. SOME PROVISIONS OP THE EDUCATION ACTS 1870 TO 1880. The First Parliamentary Provision for General Elementary Education. The year 1870 will ever be memorable in the records of Parliamentary legislation as marking a new educational departure. By the Education Act passed in that year the State, for the first time in the history of the country, legislatively declared its responsibility and duty to make provision for the elementary education of the children of the poor and of the working-classes. In doing so its intention was not in any way to supplant or supersede the existing voluntary school system, nor to lessen its admitted efficiency and usefulness — a system which, up to that period, had rendered such signal services to the English people and nation — but rather to supplement, where required, the provisions already made by volun- tary effort for the spread of education. Previous to the year 1870 the whole elementary educational organisations of the country were of purely voluntary creation, and were, in the main, sup- ported by voluntary contributions, supplemented first by grants from the State in aid of building school-houses, l6 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. and subsequently aided by grants for school main- tenance ; but up to that period there were no existing authorities or organisations invested with statutory powers, and answerable to the State for the exercise of those powers in providing, where required, the opportunities and means of education for the children of the poor. The Providing of Necessary School Accommo- dation made obligatory. The most important provision of the Act of 1870 is contained in the 5th section, which enacts that *' there shall be provided for every school district a sufficient amount of accommodation in public elementary schools, as afterwards defined, available for all the children resident in such district for whose elementary education efficient and suitable provision is not otherwise made." As to what is the true interpretation of this clause there has been much controversy, and its meaning is still regarded as a doubtful matter. As to what an *' elementary school " really is, the following is the defini- tion supplied by the Act itself. What is an " Elementary School ? " The term " public elementary school " is defined by section 7 of the Act as follows : '^ Every elementary school which is conducted in accordance with the fol- lowing regulations shall be a public elementary school within the meaning of this Act ; and every public ele- mentary school shall be conducted in accordance with the following regulations (a copy of which regulations shall be conspicuously put up in every such school), namely : — THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 7 (i) It shall not be required as a condition of any child being admitted into or continuing in the school that he shall attend or abstain from attending any Sunday- school, or any place of religious worship, or that he shall attend any religious observance, or any instruction in religious subjects in the school or elsewhere, from which observance or instruction he may be withdrawn by his parent, or that he shall, if withdrawn by his parent, attend the school on any day exclusively set apart for religious observance by the religious body to which his parent belongs : ' (2) The time or times during which any religious observance is practised, or instruction in religious sub- jects is given at any meeting of the school shall be either at the beginning or at the end, or at the beginning and the end, of such meeting, and shall be inserted in a time-table to be approved by the Education Department, and to be kept permanently and conspicuously affixed in every schoolroom ; and any scholar may be withdrawn by his parent from such observance or instruction without forfeiting any of the other benefits of the school : (3) The school shall be open at all times to the inspection of any of Her Majesty's inspectors, so, how- ever, that it shall be no part of the duties of such inspector to inquire into any instruction in religious sub- jects given at such school, or to examine any scholar therein in religious knowledge, or in any religious subject or book : (4) The school shall be conducted in accordance with the conditions required to be fulfilled by an elementary school in order to obtain an annual Parliamentary Grant." 1 8 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. ** Elementary Education " not defined by the Act of 1870. It is a singular fact that though Parliament, in con- sidering and passing the Education Act of 1870, carefully defined an '^ elementary school," yet it gave no definition of " elementary education " ; it is nevertheless of the greatest importance that such a definition should, as far as possible, be given by the Legislature, in order to make clear what should be the minimum of education supplied in elementary schools. Owing to the absence of some such definition from the Education Act a great deal of con- fusion exists in public opinion as to what really constitutes *^ elementary education " ; and the standard and area of what is conjectured to be " elementary education " are continually changing and indeed liable to change by the issue of each new Code from the Education Department, the heads of which are appointed by successive Govern- ments, whose views on education differ widely. The great advantage which would result from a clear, statutory definition of the '* elementary education " which ever}' child in the country ought to have placed within his reach would be, that it would be definitely known how far the State requires children to be educated at the expense of the rates or taxes or of both, so as to form a basis on which a secondary, or intermediate, education could be built up — in cases in which children are com- petent to attain to higher degrees of education — the means for doing so being provided for them either from private or from public sources. At present there is being given in many public elementary Board and voluntary schools, at the expense of the tax-payers and ratepayers, an education the curriculum of which cannot possibly be THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 19 defined as " elementary " in the sense in which that word was intended to be understood by the Education Act when making provision for elementary schools. On this subject the conclusion of the Royal Com- mission on Education, as expressed in their Report, is that as the meaning and limits of the term " elementary education," have not been defined in the Education Acts, nor by any judicial or authoritative interpretation, but are dependent on the annual Codes of the Department, on whose power of framing such Codes no limit has hitherto been imposed, it would appear to be an absolute neces- sity that some definition of the instruction to be paid for out of the rates and taxes should be put forth by the Legislature. Until this is done the limits of elementary education cannot be clearly understood.* The Late Mr. Porster's Definition of " Efficient " and ** Suitable " Schools. By " efficient " schools, Mr. Forster, the author of the Education Act of 1870, said, in introducing his Bill, that he meant those schools that had good buildings and good teaching. ^* Suitable " schools he defined to mean such schools as parents could not reasonably object to on religious grounds.t '* Suitability" of Schools as Defined by the In- structions given to Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools. The instructions given to Her Majesty's inspectors of schools by the Education Department, which is * Final Report of Royal Commission, p. 217. f Final Report of the Royal Commission, 1888, p. 25. 20 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. responsible for the interpretation of the meaning of the Act and the administration of its provisions, are as follows : — " Efficient and suitable provision will be held to be made for a district when there is efficient elementary school accommodation : (i) within a reason- able distance of the home of every child who requires elementary instruction ; (2) of which he can avail him- self on the payment of a fee within the means of his parent; and (3) without being required to attend any religious instruction to which his parent objects. '^ There appears to be some misapprehension with respect to the meaning of the last clause of the instruc- tions. It does not imply that every school in a district must admit all comers under the protection of a con- science clause — that will be required only in the case of the schools which seek "annual (government) aid "; nor does it imply that there must be such a school in every district ; but in every district the minority, whether Churchmen or Dissenters, must be able, if they wish it, to obtain secular instruction for their children, with such protection (of a conscience clause), either in the district itself or in an adjoining district. Two Classes of EflQ.cient Schools may exist within a School District. Under the Act a district may have two classes of efficient schools : — {a) Public elementary schools in receipt of Govern- ment grants, and worked under a time-table conscience clause by certificated teachers ; and (^) Efficient schools within the meaning of the Act, but not receiving a Government grant, either as being THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 21 without certificated teachers, or as refusing to accept the prescribed conscience clause. Conditions under which the School Provision of a District is Suitable. The instructions given to school inspectors, with reference to this subject, are as follows : *^ The school provision of a district will be suitable if there be some school or other, under a conscience clause, within reach of every child whose parent wishes him to have this protection. A parent cannot present his child to the teacher of any particular school and demand his admis- sion to the secular instruction alone, given in the school, unless the school is in receipt of annual aid — i.e,^ a Government grant — or held under a trust deed which secures the rights of conscience. The individual school may be recognised as efficient without a conscience clause, but every district must contain an efficient school with a conscience clause, if there is none near enough in another district, which the children of any minority who require such protection can attend ; and this school, or these schools if one is not large enough, must provide sufficient accommodation for all the children of the minority." How the Suitability of Individual Schools is to be ascertained. The Education Department, in continuation of their instructions to school inspectors, say: "So far, there- fore, as the suitability of individual schools is concerned, the returns will show you with what denomination, if any, each school is connected and which of them are worked '^2 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. under a conscience clause ; while the managers will in- form you if their schools are to be henceforth conducted as public elementary schools. So far as the whole pro- vision of the district is concerned the question whether it is ' suitable ' will not arise in any case where there is sufficient public school accommodation available either for the whole district or for the minority who desire pro- tection. Such accommodation \s prima fade suitable for every child. You will use your discretion as to the best means of ascertaining the numbers of the minority, and, in case of doubt on the subject, which is not removed by the information you may obtain from the school managers and others whom you meet in the district, reference may be usefully made to the overseers of the parish or the clerk of the Union, who will be able to give you some idea of the number of places of worship in the district and the attendance at each. This will be a guide to you in judging of the number of the minority, or in considering any representations they may make to you on the subject of the school accommodation which they require." School Boards and the Statutory Powers entrusted to them. There was no man in his day more competent to explain the reasons which led to the introduction of the Education Bill of 1870 than the late Mr. Forster, who was its author; and no man could have more accurately or with greater authority explained the exact and specific objects which the Bill, when passed into an Act, was intended to achieve. Did Mr. Forster intend that the creation of School Boards, with the statutory powers of THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 23 providing school accommodation entrusted to them, should in any way supplant or injure in its work the great voluntary system that had gradually grown up and been established in the country from the year 1811? The Intention of the Education Act of 1870 with Reference to School Supply by School Boards, as explained by Mr. Forster. Mr. Forster's own words shall furnish the answer to the above question : "I have said that there will be compulsory provision where it is wanted — if and where proved to be wanted, but not otherwise. We come now to the machinery for its application where it is proved to be wanted. How do we propose to supply it? By School Boards elected by the district. We have already got the district — we have found out the educational want existing in it — we see that the district must be supplied. We have waited in the hope that some persons would supply it. They have not done so. We therefore say that it must be supplied, but by whom ? It would be possible for the Govern- ment to attempt to supply it by defraying the expense from the taxes ; and I believe that one or two iionourable gentlemen think that would be the best way. No doubt it would be possible for the Government to try to do this, but I believe it would be impossible for them to effect it. I believe it is not in the power of any central department to undertake such a duty throughout the kingdom. Consider also the enormous power it would give the central administration. Well then, if Government cannot do it itself by central action we must still rely upon local agency. Voluntary local agency has failed; there- 24 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. fore our hope is to invoke the help of municipal organ- isation. Therefore, where we have proved the educa- tional need we must supply it by local administration, that is by means of rates aided by money voted by Parliament, expended under local management with central inspection and control." * The Powers of School Supply conferred upon School Boards not intended to supersede Voluntary Efforts in the Erection of Schools. From Mr. Forster's declarations it is plain that the whole School Board system, as conceived by him and created by the provisions of his bill, which subsequently became the Education Act of 1870, was exclusively intended to supplement, and not to supplant the educa- tional provision of the country, in places where the volun- tary system had failed to supply it. In no case was the School Board system intended to enter into vexatious, expensive and unnecessary com- petition with the voluntary system in providing the lacking elementary school accommodation, much less, as has been the case in many instances, to bar and entirely prohibit its progressive work, if not indeed to supersede it altogether. Establishment of School Boards, and the Statu- tory Powers Conferred upon them. By the provisions of the Act of 1870 a School Board is to be established in every district which requires further * Mr. Forster's speech in the House of Commons, 17th February, 1870. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 2$ suitable elementary school accommodation. The School Board thus created is constituted a corporate body, having a perpetual succession and a common seal, with power to acquire and hold land for the purposes of the Education Act. The members are not to be less than 5 nor more than 1 5 in number, except in London, accord- ing as may be determined in the first instance by the Education Department. The Department is to deter- mine whether a deficiency of elementary school accom- modation exists in the district. Having issued their decision on this question the right of appeal within a month is given to the ratepayers, or to the managers of any elementary school within the district. A public inquiry into the wliole question may result in the formation of a School Board of which a final notice requiring its constitution is to be issued by the Department. If after a period not exceeding six months the declared deficiency has not been supplied, nor is in course of being supplied, a School Board is to be provided for the district."^' If the School Board, on being created, fails to make such provision within twelve months it will be deemed to be in default. Powers of the Education Department over the Creation, Regulation, and Dissolution of School Boards. A School Board may, however, be created by the Education Department independently of any ascertained deficiency in school accommodation, on the applica- tion of those in whom the election of a School Board * Education Act, 1870, sec. 10. 26 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. is vested and where the Department is satisfied that a deficiency is likely soon to occur. Provision is also made for forming united School Board districts, and for dissolving the same. The United Board may be composed of members elected by the ratepayers of the constituent parts of the united district. A parish, judged by the Education Department as too small to have a School Board of its own, may be joined to another parish, to the School Board of which, once united, it will be entitled to send representatives. Fuither, School Boards are to be elected by the rate- payers for a period of three years under the method known as cumulative voting. To School Boards thus constituted the Act entrusts the duty of providing, com- pleting and maintaining an adequate public elementary school accommodation within the district. School Boards are empowered, for the purpose of providing schools, to borrow on the security of the school fund and local rate, but not without the consent of the Education Department in each instance. The repayment of the capital, with the interest on any loan, is not to extend over a period of more than fifty years. The accounts of School Boards must be audited annually by the Local Government Board and duly published according to the provisions of the Act. School Boards declared in default may be superseded by the Education Department, who may appoint other members in their place and remunerate them for their services out of the local rates. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 27 Number of School Boards, under what Circum- stances they were brought into Existence, and the Populations under their Elementary Educational Control. Up to the I St of April, 1889, School Boards were established in 161 boroughs with a population of 7,384,895. In 35 of these boroughs the election was compulsory, to supply a deficiency which, it was alleged, could not be met without the aid of the rates. In the remaining 126 cases the election of School Boards was ordered by the Education Department on the voluntary application of the municipal authorities. Of the 2,093 School Boards in unincorporated towns and rural districts 1,040 were elected under compulsory powers from the Education Department ; and in 143 cases School Boards were called into existence to meet de- ficiencies in elementary school accommodation caused by the closing, under a variety of circumstances, of existing voluntary schools ; while the remaining 910 School Boards were created by the voluntary applica- tion of the ratepayers concerned. The population under School Boards may be summed up thus : hi Englafid, There is one School Board in London, with a popu- lation of 3,834,354; 142 Boards in boroughs, with a population of 7,135,155; and 1,811 Boards, comprising 2,504 parishes, with a population of 4,439,598. The total number of School Boards in England is 1,954, with a population of 15,409,107 under their educational control. 28 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. In Wales, There are 19 School Boards in boroughs, with a population of 249,740 ; 282 Boards, comprising 458 parishes, with a population of 754,548. The total number of School Boards in Wales is 301, with a total population of 1,004,288 under their educational control ; giving a total of School Boards in England and Wales of 2,255, with a total population under their control of 16,413,395.* The Provisions of the Education Act did not give Board Schools any Preference over Voluntary Schools, with Reference to Parlia- mentary Grants. In making supplementary provisions for the elemen- tary education of the population of the country, in addition to the existing provisions already made by the voluntary system, it was not intended that any preference should be shown by the Government for either class of school on the ground of its being a voluntary or a Board school. The evident intention of the Act, as shown by its very words, goes to prove that the voluntary system and the School Board system were intended to stand on a footing of perfect equality, working side by side, not in any injurious competition, but in cordial co-operation, in doing their separate, efficient, and confessedly useful works, for the education of the country. The words of the Act are that " the conditions required to be fulfilled by an elementary school in order to obtain an annual Parliamentary grant shall be those contained in the * Report of the Committee of Council on Education, 1888- 1889. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 29 minutes of the Education Department in force for the time being .... but such conditions .... shall not give any preference or advantage to any school on the ground that it is, or is not, provided by a School Board." ^ Transfers of Voluntary Schools to School Boards, and Re-transfers of such Schools to Voluntary Managers.! School Boards are empowered by the Act not only to build new schools, but to accept a transfer of voluntary schools from their managers. In the latter case managers are empowered by a resolution of two-thirds of their number, with the specific consent of two-thirds of their subscribers, to offer a transfer of the schools under their management to the School Board existing within the borough or school district in which they are situated, and this notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the trust deeds of voluntary schools so transferred ; but notice must be given by the Education Department to the trustees, and to persons who have any interest in the property, of all such intended transfers. The voluntary school property being thus transferred to a School Board, power is given to such School Board, with the consent of the Education Department, and on the repayment of all moneys raised by loan and expended by the Board on the premises, to retransfer the said school to managers, similarly qualified as the original managers had been, if the School Board resolve by a majority of * Education Act, 1870, sec. 97. f Education Act, 1870, sees. 23 & 24. 30 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. two-thirds so to do j but managers of voluntary schools ought to be warned that, when once they transfer their schools to a School Board, the re-transfer of such schools to managers or trustees is a very difficult matter. That Board Schools were not intended by the Act of 1870 to supersede Voluntary Schools, is proved by the Fact that under the Provisions of that Act, Parliamentary Grants were offered in Aid of Voluntary School Extension. That the provision for the creation of School Boards by the Act of 1870 was not intended to supersede the voluntary system is proved by the offer made on the passing of the Act, of Government grants for the exten- sion of the voluntary system. Had the intention of Parliament been otherwise than as above stated — had it intended in any way to discourage the development of the voluntary system by its enactments for calling School Boards into existence, it is not likely that it would at the same time have made offers to the pro- moters and supporters of voluntary schools, to extend their school accommodation by the aid of Government grants, placed at their disposal, if applied for within a given period. The grants so offered were all restricted to public elementary schools, but no such grants were to be given unless applied for before the 31st December, 1870.^ The number of applications for these grants proved to be very large indeed. The supporters of the voluntary system thus challenged by Parliament to supply addi- tional school accommodation as far as they could with * Education Act, 1870, sec. 96. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 31 the aid of the offered Government grants, rose to the occasion far beyond expectation. Between the 9th of August — the date of the passing of the Act — and the 31st December, 1870, no fewer than 3,342 applications for building grants were sent in to the Education Depart- ment. Of these 376 were rejected, and 1,333 ^^^^ withdrawn. In 1,633 cases grants were made to the amount of ;^268,724 16^. 2^., by the aid of which 216,000 school places were provided at a cost to the voluntary subscribers of some ^1,000,000. The last school building for the erection of which the promise of a Government grant was thus secured, was not completed until 1882, when the last Government grant towards school buildings was paid, since which period no Government grant for such a purpose has been given.* Chief Provisions of the Act of 1870. Briefly to state the chief provisions of the Act of 1870 — it abolished the grant in aid of building schools. It sought by means of School Boards, to supplement, where the necessity was proved, the existing elementary school provision already supplied by voluntary bodies. It made the giving of religious instruction in public ele- mentary schools no longer a condition of receiving annual Government grants towards their maintenance. At the same time it left unfettered by any restrictions, the right of the managers of voluntary schools to provide for religious instruction being given to all children in attendance whose parents did not object to their receiving it ; but in the case of religious instruction given in Board * Final Report of Royal Commission, 1888, p. 29. 32 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Schools it forbade the use of any catechism or formulary distinctive of any particular religious denomination. It entirely separated religious from secular teaching, so that the latter might be had by those who, on conscien- tious or other grounds, objected to the former. Thus a Parliamentary grant under the provisions of this Act is now given and received wholly in respect of instruction in secular subjects, and altogether exclusive of the consideration whether religious instruction in any elementary school is, or is not given; the fact being that even the Government inspector, as representing Parlia- ment, in seeing to the proper application of the grant is, by the terms of the Act as well as his instructions from the Department, precluded from making inquiries as to any religious instruction which may be given in the school under his superintendence. Provisions for Examination of Elementary Schools by Diocesan and other Inspectors. Though the provisions of the Act, from the date of its becoming law, precluded any Government inspector from examining the children in any religious subject, the managers of voluntary schools were empowered to set apart not more than two days in every year for the examination of a school by an inspector, other than an inspector authorised by the Government.* This power has been very generally taken advantage of by the managers of voluntary schools to institute an aimual examination as to the knowledge of children on religious subjects. The statistics of this kind of Diocesan inspection, which * Education Act, 1870, sec. 76. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 33 is now general throughout Church schools in England and Wales, are of a most encouraging character, and show that in the face of all non-recognition of instruction in religious subjects on the part of the State, its fulness and efficiency have rather been increased than impaired. It may be added that other religious bodies, and also the London School Board, have followed this good example set by the Church and have secured, in some cases, results which may be deemed satisfactory under the circumstances. Power to Dissolve School Boards. A School Board may be dissolved at the discretion of the Education Department on receipt of an application made by two-thirds of the majority of the same persons as were entitled to make the original application for the formation of the School Board.* This can only be done if the Department is satisfied that the School Board has acquired no property, that there is no deficiency of accommodation in the district, and that no order has been made on the Board to supply additional accommo- dation. Such an application must be made within the last six months previous to the expiration of the period for which the Board was elected, which in any case must be allowed to run out its time. The order of dissolution will have the effect of an Act, but the School Board can afterwards be revived, if additional school accommo- dation be required. The reasons for the assent to such a dissolution given by the Department, must be laid before both Houses of Parliament. * Education Act, 1876, sec. 41. 34 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Creation of School Attendance Committees. As the Act of 1870 provided by the organisations of School Boards guarantees for its provisions being duly carried out, so the Elementary Education Act of 1876, sec. 33, provides for the appointment of a School Attendance Committee, for every school district for which a School Board has not been elected. School Attendance Committees have been accordingly appointed in all the Boroughs which are not under the jurisdiction of School Boards, and also in all unions of which any portion is not under the jurisdiction of a School Board. Further, power is given to the Education Department to authorise the appointment, by any urban sanitary authority, of a separate School Attendance Committee, but it must not comprise any borough, and it must be co-extensive with one or more parishes not within the jurisdiction of a School Board, the population being not less than 5,000. The expenses are to be paid pro- portionately out of the poor-rate of the parishes com- prised in the district of the urban sanitary authority. Where an urban sanitary district is not and does not comprise a borough and is not wholly within the juris- diction of a School Board, and does not come within the foregoing provisions, the urban sanitary authority of that district may appoint not more than three of its own members to represent it on the School Attendance Com- mittee of its Union, but the election of a new School Board within a district where a School Attendance Committee is appointed under these provisions, takes that district out of the jurisdiction of the Committee. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 35 Orders for Formation of School Attendance Committees. Up till September, 1889, some 72 orders were issued, authorising urban sanitary authorities to appoint School Attendance Committees for the parishes under their jurisdiction to the exclusion of the School Attendance Committee of the unions comprising those parishes. In England, 116 Boroughs 1,640,136 72 Urban Sanitary Districts 799,077 534 Unions .... 6,765,606 722 9.204,819 Jn Wales, 9 Boroughs 40,478 — Urban .... — 45 Unions .... 3I5J47 54 356,225 776 9,561,044 The Provisions for the Supply and Control of Elementary Education are determined by the Education Acts and Education Code. The Education Acts, taken with the Education Code, form the Statutory and the Education Department basis of authority, in all questions for the regulation and control of demand and supply in the matter of elemen* tary education, and of all administrative details necessary to its completeness and efficiency. 36 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. The Education Code, how Originated and Formulated. The Education Code is composed of a body of rules regulating and controlling the distribution of Parliamen- tary grants to all elementary schools throughout the country. The Code is drawn up and formulated by the Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council on Educa- tion. It is yearly reviewed in the light of records kept in the Department of the difficulties which have from time to time arisen, and of the complaints which have been made in connection with the administration of the powers committed to them. Changes in the Code have periodi- cally been made as required by the political as well as permanent heads of the Department, after conference with persons practically interested in education, and after consideration of the annual reports of Her Majesty's inspectors. Latterly there has been instituted what is called a Code Committee,* consisting of a given number of the chief and most experienced officers of the Depart- ment and of school inspectors. All suggested altera- tions or proposed amendments in the Code are brought under their consideration and fully discussed by them before any changes are embodied in its provisions. Codes must be laid on the Tables of both Houses of Parliament. The Codes must be laid on the tables of both Houses of Parliament, but the manner in which this regulation has been carried out in past years has been insufficient * Final Report of Royal Commission, p. 36. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 37 to secure the due consideration and intelligent sanction of the Legislature. Each successive Code must, in accordance with the 97th section of the Elementary Education Act 1870, be laid on the tables of both Houses of Parliament for a month before it comes into operation. It does not appear, however, that any im- portant modification in the provisions of the Code has ever been made as the result of its being laid upon the tables of both Houses until the proposed Code of 1889 was submitted. The provisions of that Code were so criticised that it had to be postponed until 1890. Practically the difficulties in the way of any Member of Parliament raising an objection, or proposing an amendment to any of its provisions, during the period that it is assumed to lie on the tables of both Houses, are very great indeed. This arises from the fact that a practice has prevailed in years past, which in some cases may have been owing to defective Parliamentary printing arrangements, that very few days have elapsed between the delivery of the proposed Code to Members of Parlia- ment and its becoming law. In addition to this Parlia- ment is generally so absorbed in the discussion of other important matters, that within the short period stated there is practically no time available for debate upon any matter of controversy arising out of each proposed Code. Method of laying Codes on the Tables of the Houses of Parliament explained in Evidence before the Royal Commission. To illustrate the accuracy of what has been stated and to show with what mere mechanical routine the statutory requirement to lay each proposed Code on 38 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. the tables of both Houses of Parliament for thirty days has been observed, and the indifference with which such an important document has hitherto been treated by the Legislature, it may be interesting to give the questions put to the late Mr. Cumin, the Chief Secretary of the Education Department, by Cardinal Manning and others, and by the Chairman of the Royal Commission on Education (the Right Hon. Sir Richard Assheton Cross, M.P., now Lord Cross), together with Mr. Cumin's answers : * Cardinal Manning. — I asked you whether the minute which is laid upon the table of the House of Commons, and which remains there for thirty days, was necessarily even in print before it was laid upon the table of the House ? Mr. Cumin. — No, not always. Cardinal Manning. — By whom is it printed — by the Department or by the House ? Mr. Cumin. — By the House. The Chairman. — Not when it is first laid upon the table of the House ? Mr. Cumin. — It is first laid upon the table in what is called " dummy," and then it is printed afterwards. It is not printed at first, but after it has been laid upon the table in *' dummy " the document is printed by us, and it is laid upon the table in the usual way. Cardinal Manning. — Then it is printed first by the Department ? Mr. Cumin. — Yes. Cardinal Manning. — Then it is laid upon the table of the House ? * First Report of Royal Commission (Mr. Cumin^s Evidence), Question No. 1,1 11. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 39 Mr. Cumin. — Yes. Cardinal Manning. — Is it then reprinted by the House upon the motion of any Member? Mr. Cumin. — Yes. Lord Norton. — Would it remain in " dummy " twenty days? Mr. Cumin. — No. Cardinal Manning. — But it is not at first printed by order of the House, and therefore it lies in " dummy " upon the table, and it does not follow that it is com- municated or distributed to the members of the House ? Mr. Cumin. — This is the Code of 1886, presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty. It is a " command " paper. The Chairman. — Then it is printed as a matter of course and distributed, and every Member gets a copy of it? Mr. Cumin. — Yes. Cardinal Manning. — It may happen that, the minutes being printed by the House, the distribution might take place at, or very nearly at, the expiration of the thirty days? Mr. Cumin. — That would depend, as I understand, upon the arrangements for printing in the House of Commons. Cardinal Manning. — But it is quite possible that it might so happen ? Mr. Cumin. — That is a matter of practice that I do not know. 40 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Reform Required in the Formulation of Codes, and in the Method of Obtaining for them Parliamentary Sanction. From the foregoing extract of the evidence given before the Royal Commission on Education by the late Mr. Cumin as to the preparation of Codes and the manner of obtaining for them the sanction of Parliament, it must be admitted that a radical change is required in these arrangements. That the whole of the elementary schools of the country, ^nd especially the voluntary schools, which are dependent for their existence on the distribution of the Parliamentary grant, and therefore on the provisions of the Education Code, in a sense in which this is not true of Board schools, should be absolutely dependent upon the will and judgment of a few gentlemen, however high in authority or experienced in education matters, for the formulation of a Code which throughout the educational year is to regulate and control all the schools of the country, would be utterly preposterous. This is what the whole thing practically w^ould amount to if the laying of the proposed Code for the ensuing year on the tables of the Houses of Parliament should continue to be virtually " a dumb show," as Mr. Cumin's evidence proves that it hitherto has been, without due time being allowed for inquiry or examination into the proposed provisions of such Code, even by individual Members of Parliament, much less by the Government of the day. Reforms in this method of procedure are the more essential as the Act of 1870 provided that a public elementary school must fulfil the conditions prescribed THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 41 in the annual code of minutes last presented to Parlia- ment. Consequently, such proposed Code, if not in any way altered by the intervention of Parliament, would in fact, at the end of the thirty days, become a part of the educational statutory law. The Wew Code of 1890. The information elicited by the Royal Commission on this important subject, especially from the evidence of Mr. Cumin, have not been without beneficial results in awakening to a sense of responsibility the Members of Parliament interested in elementary education, for the Code that was laid upon the table of the 'House of Commons in 1889, was most minutely and severely criticised by members of the House best competent to form a judgment on the necessary detailed provisions for elementary education. Some of the alleged objec- tionable clauses of that Code met with such determined opposition that it was not allowed to come into operation and had to be suspended for amendment until 1890. It was re-introduced to the House on the loth March, 1890, in such an amended form as is likely to secure for it general approval. The preamble of this new Code sets forth the desire of the Lords of the Com- mittee of the Privy Council to render the distribution of the Parliamentary grant for public education in England and Wales more simple and more effective. The Code, if sanctioned by Parliament, is to come into force on the 1st August, 1890. Schools whose year ends on or before 31st July will come under the Code of 1888; whereas those schools whose year ends later will come under the Code of 1890. 42 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. It is unnecessary to give any detailed account of the new Code, but it may be stated that it largely reduces the application of the obnoxious system of payment by individual results, and places upon a surer financial basis the future grants to be made to schools. At the same time it gives summary powers to the Department to withdraw the grant altogether from schools that cannot satisfy it as to their efficiency after a year's warning. No arrange- ment, however, will be satisfactory to the managers of voluntary schools short of raising the statutory limit of the grant known as the 17s. 6d. limit. Essential Educational Provisions should be set forth in Statutes instead of in Codes. The time has come when all essential provisions relating to elementary education should be embodied in Acts of Parliament. It should no longer be left to the comparatively irresponsible political chiefs or official heads of the Education Department to formulate such provisions periodically and lay them on the tables of both Houses of Parliament in the mere formal manner which has hitherto been the practice. If all parties concerned in the Education Department were endowed with the highest wisdom, had acquired the largest educa- tional experience, and were actuated by the best inten- tions to do their utmost in an impartial manner for the furtherance of the cause of elementary education through- out the country, still, it is an anomalous and somewhat unconstitutional proceeding, that matters, involving such momentous results, especially to voluntary schools, should be absolutely left in the hands of a few officials. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 43 In the case of voluntary schools, that have been built and hitherto maintained on the basis of the provisions of their own trust deeds and at great cost to their sup- porters, it does not appear fair to leave them year by year to the changing decisions of the heads of the Education Department, who though holding office only so long as their political party are in power, may in the meanwhile make alterations in the annual Code of a character that might virtually inflict upon those responsi- ble for the support and management of such schools monetary loss in the shape of grants diminished or withheld, which might jeopardise the very existence of the school. No other part of the business of the coun- try, dealing with such vast vested interests, monetary, educational, moral and religious, would be so left in the hands of a few officials, treated with such apathy by Parliament, or regarded with such indifference by the constituencies of the country. Review of the Relations between the Educational Societies and the Education Department. The history of the inauguration of elementary educa- tion has been to some extent reviewed and it has been stated that its origin was voluntary, religious and denominational. The period at which the State began to express any sympathetic or practical interest in the work of elementary education has been briefly indi- cated ; and it has been shown that when the State first volunteered its aid to the National Society and the British and Foreign School Society in their educational work, it did so on the distinctive lines which they had laid down for their own guidance in their educational 44 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. efforts, and on which lines the State actually found them at work when it first offered to them its support. Then, facts have been advanced to prove that, notwith- standing occasional points of difference productive at times of a severe strain, which temporarily tried the relations between the Church and denominational schools as to the Parliamentarily imposed conditions on which grants were given for school buildings and maintenance, on the whole, practically, up to the year 1870, the State co-operated with the managers of voluntary schools on their own religious basis, instead of imposing on them Parliamentary conditions subversive of their trust deeds and destructive of the rights and privileges which they had previously enjoyed. The arbitrary character of education codes has been dealt with in a preceding sec- tion. It now remains to look at the existing educa- tional facts, and to inquire into the actual condition of elementary school demand and supply as ascertained by the Royal Commissioners up till 1886 from the evidence placed before them, and as it is described by them in their final report submitted to Her Majesty on the 27th June, 1888. CHAPTER III. PKOVISION FOR ELEMENTARY EDUCA- TION EXISTING IN 1886. Elementary Schools. The returns of the elementary schools visited by Her Majesty's Inspectors for the year ending 31st August, 1886, show that the number of Her Majesty's In- spectors and Assistant Inspectors of schools was 302. The estimated population of England and Wales was 2 7>876,586. The estimated number of children who might have been in attendance at elementary schools, be- tween three and five years of age was 1,432,739 ; between the ages of five and thirteen the number was 5,216,788 ; and between the ages of thirteen and fourteen the number was 587,819 — giving a total of 7,237,346. The number of day schools visited by Her Majesty's Inspectors was 19,022. The existing schools provided accommodation for 5,145,292 children. There were on the registers of the schools inspected 4,505,825 scholars; and 4;553,75i on the registers of schools receiving annual grants. There were in these schools in average attendance 3,438,425 scholars; 42,212 certificated teachers; 17,439 assistant teachers; 27,804 pupil teachers; and 4,659 4^ THE EDUCATION BRIEF. female assistants. The schools were maintained at a cost of .:£'6,839,87o, whilst the income was as follows"^ : — School fees .... ;^i, 812,917 Government Grants . . . 2,866,7(X) Voluntary subscriptions . . 742,597 Local rates, in the case of Board Schools .... 1,169,150 Endowments .... 156,123 Miscellaneous receipts . . 79>702 Training Colleges. There are at least 30 training colleges in connection with the Church of England ; 6 conducted on the British and Foreign School Society's system ; i as Congrega- tionalist ; 2 Wesleyan ; 3 Roman Catholic ; and 4 others Undenominational. Of these, 17 are for masters ; 25 for mistresses ; and i for masters and mistresses. These colleges accommodate between them 1,369 male students and 1,822 female students. Amount of Voluntary Contributions and Govern- ment Grants Expended on the Building of Training Colleges. The returns of money spent on the erection of training colleges up to 1863 — the period at which Government building grants to schools and colleges ceased — shows that the total sum expended on the erection of these buildings has been ;£638,9oo, towards which Govern- ment contributed ;^i 18,627, leaving considerably more than half a million which was provided for by voluntary contributions. * Final Report of the Royal Commission, 1888, p. 45. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 47 Cost of Annual Maintenance met by Voluntary- Contributions and Government Grants. The annual cost of the maintenance of these colleges for the year 1886 was : For the male colleges, ;^82,7i9 ; for the female colleges, ;2^78,o24 ; and for the mixed col- leges, ;£2,999. The average annual cost per head was about ;^6o for male and ;^43 for female students. Out of ;^i67,643 — the total annual cost of their maintenance — ;^ 1 2 1,8 2 2 was supplied by Government grants ; the students themselves contributed ;^2 7,441 ; whilst the sum of ;^i5,97i was derived from voluntary contributions. Government Building Grants and Voluntary Contributions for Elementary Schools be- tween the years 1839 and 1882. Between the years 1839 and 1882 building grants were made by the State towards the erection and improve- ment of 6,335 elementary schools, amounting in all to ;^i>767,035, to meet which total sum of Government grants the large amount of ^4,866,273 was derived from voluntary contributions. The number of scholars thus provided for was 1,233,050, at a total cost of ;^6;638,3o8. Voluntary Contributions to School Buildings without Government Aid between 1839 and 1882. But the foregoing figures represent only those school buildings towards which the Government made building grants. It is to be specially noted that, in addi- tion to this, school accommodation was provided by the promoters and supporters of voluntary schools for 48 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 2,239,531 children, without the aid of any Government grant whatsoever, exclusively from voluntary contribu- tions. The total cost of this voluntary school accommo- dation, not including the value of the sites of school buildings which were given gratuitously, amounted to no less than ;^i 1,000,000."^ It will be seen therefore that from 1839 to 1882, the total Government grants for school buildings amounted to ^1,767,035 ; whilst the voluntary subscriptions to meet the Government grants amounted to ;j£'4,866,2 73. The voluntary expen- diture on school buildings erected exclusively from volun- tary funds without any Government grants amounted to ;^i 1,000,000. The total voluntary expenditure there- fore was ;£^i 5,866,273. This shows that the volun- tary expenditure on behalf of school buildings was considerably more than eight times the amount of the Government grants. Voluntary and Board Progress in School Building from 1870 to 188 6. Of the whole increase in school accommodation pro- vided from 1870 to 1886, amounting to 3,182,919 places, 1^542,032 were due exclusively to voluntary effort, whilst 1,640,887 were provided by School Boards. The exist- ing school accommodation reckoned as 5,200,685 in 1886 is made up of 3.472,581 places in voluntary schools, and 1,728,104 in Board Schools, the former being to the latter somewhat in excess of 2 to 1.* * Final Report of Royal Commiision, p. 46. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 49 Progress of Voluntary Schools from 1870 to 1886, as testified to by the Separate Eeport of the Dissentient Members of the Royal Commission. In their separate report the dissentient members of the Royal Commission on Education testify to the progress of voluntary schools from the time of the passing of the Education Act. They say ; "In the schools inspected in i8'j4^ voluntary accommodation was 2,626,000 school places; the average number on the roll was 2,277,000; and the average attendance was 1,540,000 children. In 1886, in round numbers, the accommodation was 3,443,000 places; average on the roll, 2,867,000; and average attendance, 2,187,000 — being an increase of 817,000 in accommodation, 590,000 on the roll, and 47,000 in average attendance."^ Progress of Board Schools, 1870 to 1886. The Board schools, in the same time, increased from 245,000 accommodation; 221,000 on the roll; and 138,000 in average attendance; to 1,692,000 accom- modation; 1,638,000 on the roll; and 1,251,000 in average attendance + Comparative Progress of Church and other Volun- tary Schools and Board Schools, from 1870 to 1886, as testified to by the separate Report of the Dissentient Members of the Royal Com- mission. The Church of England schools during these sixteen years have increased their accommodation from 1,365,000 * Final Report of Royal Commission, p. 46. f Ibid, p. 368. D 50 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. places to 2,549,000 places, being a growth of 1,184,000 places, and this in spite of the transfer of a number of Church schools to School Boards. Of this increase a certain proportion is probably due to the improvement of the schools which in 1870 were not under Government inspection. If we take those brought under inspection as containing 500,000 places, or even the full number of 600,000 estimated by the National Society, we shall still have evidence of great activity and volun- tary effort on the part of members of the Church of England to extend the school system connected with their principles. The School Boards, which had practically no schools except a handful of transferred ones before 1873, had 1,750,000 places in the year ending 31st August, 1886. Of these a certain number, probably not more than 160,000 places, were in transferred schools. But the great bulk of these 1,750,000 places have been provided in new schools built by loans at the cost of the rate- payers and secured upon the rates. The whole increase of voluntary schools since 1870 is from 1,878,000 places to 3,417,000 places — an increase of 1,539,000 places, of which 1,184,000 places belong to the Church of England, the remaining 355,000 places being distributed amongst the Roman Catholic, the Wesleyan, and the British and Foreign School Society schools.* * Final Report of Royal Commission, p. 253. CHAPTER IV. THE SUPPLY OF SCHOOL ACCOMMO- DATION. Proportion of Population Requiring School Accommodation. By the 5th section of the Act of 1870 it is required that : " There shall be provided for every school district a sufficient amount of accommodation in public elemen- tary schools, as hereinafter defined, available for all the children resident in such district for whose elementary education efficient and suitable provision is not other- wise made." The report of the Education Department for 1886-87 lays down the rule that to meet the wants of the children for whom schools are to be provided and who constitute one-fifth of the total population, the number of school places provided ought to be equal to one-sixth of the population ; but it is evident that the required public elementary school accommodation must vary greatly, according to the character of the population in different school districts. For instance, the requirements of elementary school accommodation for populations such as those of East- bourne and St. Leonards, taking into account the social 52 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. position of a great proportion of the inhabitants, would be very different from the elementary school accommo- dation required for populations of the same numbers in the metropolitan districts of, say. Poplar or Bethnal Green, or any other locality chiefly inhabited by the poor and the working-classes. It is manifest, therefore, that the population of each district, in deciding upon the amount of school accommodation required for the chil- dren resident within it, must be determined by a parti- cular consideration of the peculiar educational wants of the district itself. The Extent of Necessary School Accommodation by whom and how ascertained. The ultimate responsibility of ascertaining the amount of elementary school accommodation required for any district rests with the Education Depart- ment ; and the Department depend for their in- formation on the inspector of the district. School inspectors are bound to report to the Department, on the discovery of any deficiency of school accommo- dation within their districts; and the Department on obtaining such information take steps to provide for its supply. Besides, in non-School Board districts. School Attendance Committees, from time to time, make representations to the Department respecting the suffi- ciency or insufiiciency of school accommodation within the districts under their superintendence ; and it is the duty of School Boards to see that proper school provi- sion is made to meet any ascertained deficiency in that respect within the area over which they have control. Then, again, there are always certain local authorities THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 53 • that the Department may communicate with, should it think well so to do, to obtain for itself an independent report as to the existing facts, so far as the sufficiency of school accommodation is concerned. There are also seldom wanting independent persons who, feeling a keen interest in educational matters, are not slow, when neces- sity arises, to make representations to the Education Department upon their own account. At any rate it rests with the Department through their inspectors, School Attendance Committees, and School Boards throughout the country, and by any other means of which they may avail themselves, to find out whether there is a lack of school accommodation in any district, and to put the proper machinery in motion, as soon as possible, to supply it. May the Present School Accommodation through- out England and Wales be regarded as Sufl- cient ? It is in the aggregate sufficient, and in some localities more than sufficient ; but it is not evenly distributed and perhaps never can be, owing to the fact that the popula- tions of different places are continually undergoing the process of diminution or increase, and transfer themselves from one locality to another. But taking the facts as they stand, they are these : that the school accommo- dation for the whole of England and Wales makes a provision for 5,385,643, while the average number of scholars in attendance is only 3,633,094. Therefore the conclusion is justified that the school supply is at present not only fully adequate to the wants of the 54 I'HE EDUCATION BRIKF. population, but even much larger than is required, being actually in excess of the average attendance by some one million and three-quarters. Of course it must be admitted, that this school ac- commodation is not evenly distributed, and that the excess in one locality cannot possibly make up for the deficiency in another; but still, on the whole, facts abundantly prove that, so far as practically can be, sufficient accommodation is provided for all children eligible for school attendance. Given an Ascertained Deficiency of School Ac- commodation, by whom may it be supplied? When a deficiency in school accommodation is ascer- tained in any non-School Board district, the parish or district is called upon to supply such accommodation by voluntary effort ; or, failing that, to elect a School Board for the purpose of meeting such deficiency. If steps are not taken to the satisfaction of the Department to provide school accommodation within a given period, a School Board would be called into existence whose duty it would be, according to the provisions of the Act, to provide for the educational wants of the locality. Who has the Prior Bight to supply Lacking School Ac3ommodation in School Board Districts ? The question of whether a School Board has the prior right to supply a deficiency of school accom- modation within its own district has given rise to great difference of opinion. The assertion of such a right on the part of School Boards has, in past years, been THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 55 backed up by the opinion of the Education Department, which is stated to rest upon the advice of the Law Officers of the Crown founded upon their interpretations of the Education Acts. Voluntary bodies have therefore been, in some cases, prevented building schools to supply deficiencies in school accommodation, in certain districts, under the threatened consequences that in the event of the schools being built they would be excluded from the receipt of an annual grant. Notwithstanding that the whole expen- diture on the building of such schools would have been met by voluntary contributions, without the charge of a single farthing upon the rates,"*^ their action has been prevented under the threat of labelling them unneces- sary, and specially excluding them from a grant. Rate- payers throughout the country have thus been needlessly charged with many thousands of pounds, owing to the fact that friends of voluntary education have not been permitted to devote their contributions to the providing of the necessary school accommodation. The Opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown on the Subject. The existing law on this important subject, as inter- preted by the legal officers of the Crown and acted upon by the Department and School Boards throughout the country, is that while a School Board is bound to reckon as a part of the school accommodation of their borough or parish all existing voluntary efficient schools, they * First Report of Royal Commission (Mr. Cumin's evidence, 1886, 2,048-71 and 2,076) ; also Final Report, p. 46-7. 56 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. are not bound in estimating any further deficiency which may, from time to time, arise within their borough or district, to recognise, as a part of that school accommo- dation for which they are required to see that pro- vision is made, any school accommodation already provided or about to be provided by schools in course of erection or proposed to be erected by any voluntary bodies. But the School Boards themselves may, by their own act, in the absence of a requisition from the Department, and with its consent, divest themselves, in whole or in part, of their right to supply the deficient accommoda- tion, even though it has been an original deficiency. It rests with the Education Department alone to decide the question whether a school erected in any School Board district to meet the wants of the population, shall be placed upon the list of public elementary schools and be deemed as meeting in whole or in part the deficiency which the School Board claim the right to supply.* Grievances of Promoters of Voluntary Education arising from the Official Interpretation of the Law. The present interpretation of the law by the Education Department as to the prior right of School Boards to supply lacking school accommodation has been the source of serious grievance in several cases, and espe- * The School Board of York was allowed by the Department to avail itself of the help of the Church Extension Association in pro- viding for an original deficiency in school accommodation. See p.S8. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 57 . daily in the case of some Roman Catholic schools. Great dissatisfaction is very naturally felt by the sup- porters of voluntary schools at a construction of the law which seems to bar their right to found schools which, while intended to fulfil the requirements of the Department, would still afford them the right of edu- cating their children in their own religious faith. It is justly regarded as a serious hardship arbitrarily imposed upon religious bodies in the event of their building a school at their own expense, within a district where school accommodation is admittedly required — that, unless they secure for themselves the acquiescence of the School Board they have to face the fact that their school will possibly be labelled " unnecessary ; " and be unrecognised by the Department. The effect of this would probably be to preclude the school from the receipt of a Government grant ; and all this notwith- standing that the said voluntary school might be preferred by the people of the district, might be most efficiently conducted, and might fulfil all the requirements de- manded by the Education Department from an ele- mentary school — simply because the School Board might not choose to sanction its being recognised as a necessary school. A further consequence of such refusal, would be that the School Board would be compelled, at the expense of the ratepayers, to provide the same if not a greater, amount of accommodation at the cost of more than double the expenditure required for the erection of the voluntary school. The remedy for this grievance, as stated by the Royal Commissioners, seems to lie in a more liberal interpretation by the Education Depart- 58 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. ment, of the term " suitability," as applicable to school accommodation, and in their close adherence to the spirit of the provisions of the Act of 1870.* The Cases of School Supply at York and Salisbury are illustrative of the close Adherence to the Spirit of the Act of 1870, as recommended by the Royal Commissioners. It is satisfactory, to record that instances have com e to light in which the Education Department, acting upon an interpretation of the Act in closer accordance with its author's intention, and its literal meaning, has exercised its proper office in allowing time to the advocates of voluntary schools to supply school accommodation to meet existing, or, indeed, it may be said in one case at least, intentionally-created school deficiency, before throwing the responsibility of meeting such deficiency upon the School Board. Illustrations of this interpre- tation of the Act by the Department are presented in the cases of York and Salisbury. In the case of York the School Board was allowed to avail itself of the help of the Church Extension Association in providing the required school accom- modation of some TOGO places. In the case of Salisbury, it appears that two British schools were closed by their managers notwithstanding that offers were made on the part of Churchmen to help them in their maintenance or, when closed, to reopen and maintain the schools on their own account. Under these circumstances, Churchmen with the consent of the * Final Report of Royal Commission, p. 208. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 59 School Board and the sanction of the Department, claimed the right to provide the school accommodation required to meet the deficiency which was thus so manifestly intentionally created. The result was that a ^^ George Herbert " Infant school, with accommodation for some 452 children, was built by the Kilburn Church Extension Association ; a high-grade school, with ac- commodation for 200 boys, was erected by the bishop ; and other large additional school accommodation was provided sufficient to meet the wants of the place. The opponents of voluntary schools in Salisbury, being thus thwarted in their attempt to introduce Board schools^ were greatly agitated in the matter. The Right Hon. A. J. Mundella, as representing their grievances resulting from the defeat of their attempt to introduce Board schools, brought the subject before the House of Commons in the form of a motion, on the 25th March, 1890. In the course of the discussion the Government stated that it was in strict accordance with the Act of 1870 to give opportunities to the supporters of volun- tary schools to supply any existing deficiency in school accommodation previously to calling upon the School Board to take action in the matter. Of the complaint on the part of Mr. Mundella, that the Church Extension Association, having no local standing in Salisbury, had intervened in the educational affairs of that city, by offering to build a school, the very important opinion of the Government was further elicited as to the right of supporters of the voluntary system not re- siding in the School Board district, to help in providing the required school accommodation. The opinion of the Government was expressed to the following effect: 6o THE EDUCATION BRIEF. There is nothing in the Act of 1870 to show that a voluntary agency, extraneous to the place concerned, should be precluded from taking part in supplying, in such a case, the lacking school accommodation. If the opponents of the Church schools conceived that they suffered any grievance from the fact that the Kilburn Sisters had, under the circumstances, built a school in Salisbury, which was not as alleged suitable for the chil- dren of Dissenters, those who felt such grievance should quarrel with the Education Act of 1870 itself, which certainly gave that liberty of action which the Church Extension Association had claimed and exercised in the matter."^ Such liberty of action, sanctioned by the Education Department, as expressive of the opinion of the Govern- ment, is in accordance with the recommendation of the Royal Commissioners on Education as to the competency of voluntary bodies to supply, in whole or in part, any deficiency in school accommodation. Can School Boards cede their alleged Prior Right of School Supply to Voluntary Bodies ? Mr. Cumin, the late head of the permanent staff in the Education Department, in giving evidence before the Royal Commission, had the following explicit question put to him on this subject by the Rev. Dr. Rigg : " Then am I to understand that offered and projected voluntary schools are absolutely not to be taken into account by the Boards ? " Mr. Cumin's answer was : " They are absolutely not to be taken into account by the Boards * Times of 26th March, 1890. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 6 1 unless the Boards acquiesce in divesting themselves of the right to supply the deficient accommodation." Notwithstanding this statement on the part of Mr. Cumin, it appears that in a case at Willesden the Department threatened to declare the Board in default if it allowed a clergyman to supply a deficiency which the Department had already required the Board to supply. Mr. Cumin's account and justification of the action of the Department will be gathered from the evidence given by him in reference to this case. " The School Board," said he, " was set up to supply a particular deficiency, and that supply the School Board wished to put upon the clergyman, who was a volunteer. We said, ^ You cannot do that, because it is your duty, as a School Board to supply the deficiency, which de- ficiency caused the election of the School Board.' The Board and various other persons disputed that, and we said, *Well, inasmuch as this is a question of difficult legal interpretation, we are willing to abide by the law officers' opinion/ The law officers were consulted, and they supported the action of the Department." This law of school supply, as thus interpreted, is contrary to the intention of Mr. Forster, who was the author of the Education Bill of 1870. Mr. Forster gave it clearly to be understood on several occasions that he regarded the provisions for elementary education embodied in his Bill, which afterwards substantially became the Educa- tion Act of that year, as being supplementary to the provision already made, or which might, fi-om time to time, be made by voluntary bodies, and as not in any way intended to supersede the efforts of such bodies, or to supplant them in doing the important work which, 62 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. on all hands it was admitted, they were doing in making provision for the elementary education of the country.* School Boards should now exercise their Powers in School Building, as they did in their first Efforts under the Education Act, and as has been done by the Boards of York and Salisbury. The recognised work of School Boards in supplying the deficiency in school accommodation was, of course, first ascertained after the passing of the Act of 1870. What they did then will serve to show within what lines they ought to work now in supplying any deficiency as it arises. The question is, under what circumstances, and how did the School Boards supply the school deficiency first ascertained after the passing of the Act of 1870? The Act of 1870 was passed to provide school accommo- dation for the growing requirements of the country. Its leading provisions were based upon the necessity of filling up without delay the great deficiency existing at that time. The period originally proposed by the Bill for the application of Parliamentary grants in aid of voluntary efi'ort to supply the lacking school accom- modation was reduced by the House of Commons, and limited to a period of four months. Within that time applications for all building grants had to be made, and after that period no building grants were to be given for the future — severe provisions which were not at all con- templated by Mr. Forster in his Bill. As soon as volun- tary religious bodies had exhausted all their powers in accordance with the provisions of the Act in doing their * See the cases of York and Salisbury, p. 58. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 6^ Utmost to provide the required scliool accommodation, then, and not till then, did the work of the School Boards begin in supplying the remaining deficiency which the voluntary bodies were unable to meet. This clearly defined duty of completing the school supply of the country as far as the voluntary bodies had failed to provide it, was the real work imposed by the Legislature upon School Boards. On these lines, and within these limits, in supplying any deficiency in school accommodation as it arises, is the real mission of a School Board, in accordance with the true purport and meaning of the Act of 1870, as was avowed by the Government in the course of the discussion upon Mr. Mundella's motion with reference to the Salisbury case, in the House of Commons on the 25th March, 1890. Have School Boards the Power of Deciding what Schools are Unnecessary within their Boroughs or Districts? There is a prevalent feeling of dissatisfaction amongst the supporters of voluntary schools with the apparent inconsistency of the Education Department, in throwing .the responsibility of deciding what are unnecessary schools upon the School Boards instead of deciding such matters themselves, as it was no doubt intended by the Education Act that they should do, and as they undoubtedly undertook to do, and did do, until the year 1886. It was laid down in Article 7 of the Code of 1878, that no giant is made for, or in respect of, any school which is not previously in receipt of an annual grant, i/ the Department think that the school is unnecessary ; and this article was repeated in 64 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. successive Codes till 1882. The following extract from Mr. Cumin's evidence before the Royal Commission will t€nd to illustrate the action of the Department in reference to the matter : " Question. — In practice, when a school is offered to the Department and applies for annual grants which seem to be in excess of the one-sixth limit, do you consult the School Board before you answer the applica- tion? " Ans7ver, — Yes, always. " Q, — And it rests with them to determine, in the first instance, and to submit to the Department the considera- tions upon which they think that the school is necessary or not ? "^.— Yes. " Q, — In some cases they admit different classes of schools, and do not insist upon making the supply them- selves ? " ^.— That is so. " Q, — That, I suppose, is partly from the fear of increasing the rates ? " A. — Partly from that, and also from the difficulty of compelling the children to go to a school that they do not like. " Q. — On the other hand, do not some School Boards sayj: * We decline to allow any addition to the school supply, because we insist upon the children of every class going into the Board schools ? ' ** ^.— That is so. " Q. — You are guided, therefore, in the first instance, generally by the opinion of the School Board of the district? THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 65 ** A, — What we say is, * If you, the School Board, are willing to perform your duty by supplying this accom- modation, if you do supply the accommodation, and if the children are actually brought into these schools, any provision beyond that must be an unnecessary school, and therefore we are bound to refuse it under Article 98/ But, as I have stated before, we allow it to be a certified efficient school." Apparent Evasion by the Department of the Responsibility thrown upon it by the Act. Taking it for granted that Article 98, quoted by Mr. Cumin, is understood to be the 98th section of the Act of 1870, his interpretation of the words of the article seems to be somewhat strained. The clause runs thus : ** The Education Department may refuse a grant if they think the school unnecessary." By these words the Act throws a double responsibility upon the Educa- tion Department — first, to decide whether the school seeking a grant is unnecessary; and, secondly, if they deem it unnecessary, whether they shall exercise the discretionary power with which the Act seems to have invested them, in giving it a grant. The Department, however, appear to escape their first duty — that of determining whether a school is or is not unnecessary — by resolving beforehand to accept the decision of the School Board concerned, on that important point. Therefore, the second obligation im- posed upon them by the Act — namely, that of deciding whether or not, under all the circumstances, they will make an annual grant to- the unnecessary school, so as to meet with equity the cases of hardship brought E 66 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. before them — is that which they make no attempt to discharge. Indeed, by the following minute of August, 1876, the Department divested themselves, whether legally or not, of this latter duty : — " Resolved, that with a view to remove any doubt as to the discretion of the Education Department in administering the Parlia- mentary grant, so as to prevent the multiplication of un- necessary schools, and to secure uniform economy and efficiency in the distribution of the grant, it is expedient to provide by the new Code that no annual grant shall be made for, or in respect of, any school to which such grants have not previously been made, if the Education Depart- ment think that the school is unnecessary." The duty of deciding whether a school is necessary or unnecessary was very distinctly recognised by the Act as being attached to the Department itself. The Code of 1882 dropped the reference to the decision of the Department, and merely stated that " the school must not be unnecessary," leaving it altogether an open question as to who is to be the judge of whether the school is necessary or unnecessary.* Proposed Remedy for Grievances arising out of Conflicting Interpretations of the Meaning of the Education Act. The finding of the Royal Commissioners after full inquiry upon this important subject is : '* The remedy for * Schools of the Church Extension Association at Croydon and Kottingham, after encountering^ much opposition, were by the School Boards of those places deemed to be necessary. They were subsequently placed by the Department on its list of schools for annual grants. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 67 the grievance complained of seems to be in a more liberal interpretation of the word * suitability ' of a school, and in a close adherence to the spirit of the provisions of the Act of 1870." The following contention of Mr. Allies, the secretary of the Catholic Poor School Committee, seems to be worthy of serious consideration. Regarding the decision as to what schools are unnecessary he said : " We should not rest with anything short of its being left still, as the Act leaves it, to the decision of the Educa- tion Department, and that the Education Department should not take the decision of the School Board as if it were its own, or consider itself bound by the decision of the School Board not to give a grant if it thinks proper. I wish to reserve to the Education Department the entire decision. We fully admit that if the Education Department, considering all the circumstances, deter- mines that the school is unnecessary, it may, according to the Act, give its decision accordingly." * The Meaning of the Terms "Public Elementary" and *'Eflacient and Suitable" as applied to Schools under the Education Act. The Department interprets the word ** suitable" in the Act as referring only to schools which are not pubhc elementary schools. The Act says that " there shall be provided for every school district a sufficient amount of accommodation in public elementary schools available for all the children resident in such district for whose elementary education efficient and suitable provision is not otherwise made." * Final Report of Royal Commission p. 58. 68 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. It is sometimes supposed that " suitable *' applies to a public elementary school. This is not so. "Suitable" provision means that the provision must be suitable where it is not a public elementary school, but under a conscience clause, and the question then arises, what is a public elementary school ? A public elementary school is one that is efficient, having a certificated teacher, having a conscience clause, having a time-table put up, being open at all times to inspection, and being conducted in accordance with the Code — that school is iJ>so facto " suitable," and it is ipso facto '* efficient," because it is "a public elemen- tary school."* According to this interpretation, the Act of 1870 pro- vides that in any school district, if there shall not already be efficient and sufficient accommodation which is also suitable, or such as the parents could not reasonably object to on religious grounds, then the law shall step in and see that a public elementary school is established, in which case the question of suitability will not arise, because such school, by virtue of its being a '* public elementary " school, must be suitable. Mr. Cumin, as representing the Education Depart- ment, contended that, so far as the religious question is concerned, every public elementary school, whether established by a School Board, or by a particular religious denomination, is regarded by the Depart- ment as suitable to the children of parents of all denominations. Upon being asked whether a public elementary school connected with any religious denom- nation is '* suitable " for the children of every other * First Report of Royal Commission (Mr. Cumin's evidence, 391). THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 69 denomination, he answered : '' That is the view of the Legislature ; " and this contention is borne out by the official circular of the Department defining " suitabiHty." Supply of Board School Accommodation by means of Voluntary Schools Transferred to School Boards. Under the 23rd section of the Education Act of 1870 power is given to the managers of denominational schools, even when the property is held on specific trusts, to transfer their school buildings to School Boards, for objects very different from those to which such buildings were originally devoted. The provisions of the section referred to are : — First, that the resolutions to transfer must be passed by a majority of two-thirds of the managers present at a meet- ing specially summoned for the purpose of considering the proposed transfer. Secondly, that the resolutions of the managers to transfer the school as proposed, must be confirmed by a majority of two-thirds of the annual subscribers present at a meeting specially summoned to consider such resolutions. Thirdly, that the proposed transfer agreement must be approved of by the Education Department, which, previous to such approval, should consider and have due regard to any objections or representations that may be made by any person who has contributed to the establishment of such school. Consequences of the Transfer of Voluntary Schools to School Boards. The effect of these provisions is entirely to set aside the wishes of the founders of the school in question, to ignore the power of the trustees as holders of 70 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. the property under the trust deed for its application and exclusive devotion to the objects for which it was created, and to confer upon the managers of the school, for the time being, powers of disposing of the property to objects different from those for which it was put in trust, and altogether contrary to the pro- visions of the trust deed, to the settlement of which provisions the State itself was a party. To confer upon managers such extraordinary powers, overriding altogether the legal position and authority with which the law had previously invested the trustees, and to permit such managers to alienate the school property from the objects of its trust contrary to the wishes of the founders of, and the subscribers to, the school building, is cer- tainly little short of an act of confiscation. It is evident that in any particular parish or town persons might secure for themselves a position on the committee of management of a voluntary school with the express object of bringing about a crisis in its existence, and handing it over on the first opportune occasion to the School Board; notwithstanding that such persons had never shown any interest whatever in the subject of elementary education, and had never contributed to the building and maintenance of the school in question. The Number of Voluntary Schools transferred to School Boards. The important fact that 1,164 voluntary schools, including 825 Church, 15 Wesleyan, and 229 British schools, have up to the present time been trans- ferred to School Boards, shows that the somewhat reckless facilities conferred upon managers for transferring THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 7 1 in such a rough and ready way voluntary schools to School Boards require to be reconsidered and revised. Every reasonable precaution should be taken to see that all who claim to have any legal vested interests in voluntary schools should be duly consulted, and should be heard in the matter before such transfers are completed. It is somewhat satisfactory, however, to be able to state that during the year 1888-1889 only 20 voluntary schools were transferred to School Boards, of which 15 were Church schools, and 4 were in connection with the British and Foreign School Society. The remedy suggested in the Report of the Royal Commissioners on Education, for the state of things which has been described with reference to the voluntary school transfers to School Boards, is ** that in any fresh legislation it should be enacted that no transfer of a school held under trust should take place without the consent of a majority of the trustees, and that the Department should not sanction such terms of transfer as interfere with the original trust beyond what is re- quired for the purposes of the Education Acts, and that provision should be made that no structural ex- penses involving a loan should be incurred without the consent of the trustees from whom the building is leased." * i • * Final Report of Royal Commissii n, p. 208 CHAPTER V. MANAGEMENT OF VOLUNTARY SCHOOLS AND BOARD SCHOOLS. A Recognition of the End for which a School exists should determine the Spirit and Character of its Management. For the efficient management of a school it is necessary to have a clear idea of the high end for which a school should exist. If the object of its existence were com- pletely realised when its scholars have obtained such a knowledge of secular subjects as will enable them to discharge the duties which may fall to their lot in life, but little might be required from the managers of any school beyond such general oversight as would secure that the requisites for secular instruction were provided, and that the teachers did not neglect their duties. Over and above this, however, if an elementary school is to be regarded as a place of education in which the character of each child is to be formed, as well as its mental powers cultivated, so as to influence in a good direction its conduct in after life, then much more than mere oversight is demanded from the managers as well as from the teachers. By their active sympathy with, and kindly influence over, individual scholars, they may THK EDUCATION BRIEF. 73 do much to model their character and help them to become good and useful members of society. Two Separate Departments of School Management. There is one department of school management which, to a great extent, can be conducted without personal visitation of the school ; and another which neces- sarily involves personal intercourse with the school, the teachers, and the scholars. The first department in- cludes attention to such duties as the appointment and removal of teachers, the proper equipment of the school, the regulation and rem.ission of fees, and other matters which are, more or less, capable of being settled in committee and do not necessarily involve direct contact with the school itself. But the second department in- volves the frequent visitation of the school and the personal superintendence of its business during school hours, sympathy with and encouragement of its teachers in their work, and a kindly, and indeed, friendly influence exercised over the children who attend the school. Different Qualifications required for each Department of Management. The two departments of school management which have been briefly described require each their special qualifica- tions for the efficient fulfilment of the duties of each, a general interest in education being assumed as a neces- sary condition for the successful discharge of the duties attaching to either of the departments. For the first there would be required business habits. 74 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. administrative ability, and the capacity for working har- moniously with other managers in the general manage- ment of the school. For the second, which involves the personal oversight of a school, some amount of education, tact, interest in school work and love for detail, even to superintending the business of the school in its minutest particulars are qualifications which, if not in every case actually neces- sary, are nevertheless most desirable, and cannot fail to contribute to success in this specific department of school management. In addition to the qualifications already described, and to contribute to the realisation of the highest end that ought to be kept in view in the whole work of elemen- tary education, personal oversight of the religious and moral instruction given in school is absolutely necessary, fully to complete the duties of school managers. General Legal Provision for the Management of Voluntary Schools. . For the management of such voluntary schools as were built with the aid of Government grants the Education Department in very early days, and subse- quently from time to time, made definite provision by causing to be inserted in the trust deeds of such schools *^ management clauses," differing in some particulars according to the circumstances of any given school. These management clauses set forth the qualifications and future method of election of the managing body, the original body of managers having been nominated by the founders or promoters of the school. To a new body constituted on the basis of the provisions of the Govern- THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 75 ment management clauses the whole direction of the • school was committed, as a condition of a building grant being given, and this arrangement was generally ac- cepted by the founders of voluntary schools. In the case of Church of England schools, however, the superintendence of the religious and moral instruc- tion was reserved to the incumbent of the parish with his assistant clergy, or otherwise as the case might be.* How far does the Education Department exercise Control over the Management of a Voluntary School which is in Receipt of a Maintenance Grrant ? The m.anagement of all voluntary schools is entirely under the supervision and control of the Government inspectors, as representing the Education Department, and their supervision and control extend to the very minutest particulars of the school which involve the ascertainment of the school's compliance with the requirements of the Department, to qualify it for the receipt of the maintenance grant. Abundant evidence to this effect was given by various school inspectors and others before the Royal Com- missioners on Elementary Education. The Rev. T. W. Sharpe, one of Her Majesty's Chief Inspectors of schools^ said : " We claim no power of auditing, but we see that the accounts are audited and that they are in a state to be audited ; that is to say, all bills are brought before us, all docketed in order, and we see that the auditor can verify each one." t Any items of expendi- * Minute of Committee of Council of 28th June, 1887. t First Report of Royal Commission, quests. 4,617-8. 76 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. ture which were not fairly chargeable to the school fund would be struck out in the Education Department. The supervision, Mr. Sharpe adds, is very strict. In the course of his experience he became acquainted with no abuse arising from the fact that the schools in some cases are under the management of individual persons, and, as is alleged, without a check. Several witnesses before the Commission contended for the necessity of a public audit of the voluntary school accounts, but the Commissioners, after hearing all the evidence, did not deem it necessary to recommend this course, as involving much expense. They expressed their opinion that the accounts of all voluntary schools, when audited, should be open to public inspection as well as the accounts of Board schools. There can be no objection to the publication of the accounts of voluntary schools, and it is satisfactory to know that in the new Code of 1890 it is provided that, " immediately on the receipt of the annual re- port of the inspector, the managers must publish the last account of income and expenditure furnished to the Department by posting a copy thereof on the door of the school, or in some other public place in the school district, and keeping the same so posted for not less than fourteen consecutive days. They must also publish in the same manner, and for the same days, a notice that the report will be open tojnspection at the school during such days, at any reasonable time, except the ordinary school hours, and must submit the same to inspection accordingly." THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 77 Should Parents of School Children be represented on Voluntary School Management ? The evidence given before the Royal Commission tended to show that it was desirable, on the whole, where the arrangement could be conveniently carried out, to have representatives of the parents of the school children on the committee of management. It was shown that in a certain number of cases such an arrangement was already in existence, and that it worked satisfactorily. It was at the same time suggested that the presence of the representatives of the parents of children attending the school might not be found at all times and in all cases convenient, as it might tend to in- terfere with the enforcement of discipline in the school, and with the maintenance of the absolute authority of the teachers over the children within school hours while under instruction. Given, however, that the representatives of the parents on the committee of management were persons of in- telligence, common sense and business habits, it is difficult to see why the fact of their being parents of children within the school, should disqualify them from taking their share in, and deciding upon, even the most delicate matters of school business that might, from time to time, have to be brought before the managers. Should Ratepayers, as such, be represented upon the Committee of Management of Voluntary Schools ? As voluntary schools have not been built by the rates, are not maintained by the rates and receive no contribu- 78 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. tion whatever from the rates towards their support^ it is inequitable that any ratepayers should set up a claim to the alleged right of being represented upon their committees of management. It is true that voluntary schools receive, as do Board schools, annual grants from Government towards their maintenance, but this fact no more entitles ratepayers to be represented upon voluntary school management com- mittees, to see to the expenditure of such grants, than it entitles the ratepayers to be represented upon the manage- ment of any institution throughout the country to the maintenance of which Government gives an annual grant. Moreover the ratepayers, in exercising so much con- trol as they do over Board schools, do not exercise this control on the ground that Board schools receive Govern- ment grants, but solely and exclusively on the ground that the Board schools have been built by a charge upon the rates, and have to a great extent to be maintained by the further charge of an annual rate, both of which charges the ratepayers are bound to pay. Managers of Board Schools appointed to their Office by School Boards. The London School Board makes two delegations of its powers of school management. First, it delegates its functions of school management to its own School Man- agement Committee, elected from the number of its own members; and secondly, the powers with which this School Management Committee are entrusted are further delegated to local managers appointed to take charge of separate groups of schools. These local managers are nominated by the members of the electoral School Board division in which such schools are situated. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 79 The Chairman of the London School Board stated in evidence before the Royal Commission* that but for the aid of such local managers the work of the Board could not be done, and that if the schools belonging to the Board are to be maintained in anything like efficiency the powers given by Parliament to appoint local school managers should be most liberally used ; and further, that in order to secure the assistance and help of responsible persons local managers should be entrusted with re- sponsible powers. They are already entrusted with large and greatly increased responsibilities; they personally visit the schools under their charge ; they practically nominate the teaching staff; they suggest what fees should be charged and in what cases they should be remitted. A veto, however, on the appointment of teachers and the responsible direction of affairs is re- served to the School Management Committee of the Board. Some School Boards in large towns follow the example set by the London School Board in the appoint- ment of local managers. On the contrary, such School Boards as those of Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, Hull, Salford and Stoke-upon-Trent do not delegate their powers to local managers, but carry out all details of school management, either by special committees of their own members, or by a system of paid inspectors. Summary of Differences between Voltintary and Board Management. A great variety of evidence was given before the Royal Commission as to the comparative merits of the * Final Report of Royal Commission, p. 67. So THE EDUCATION BRIEF. management of voluntary schools and that of Board schools. The preponderance of evidence showed that the whole circumstances connected with the appoint- ment of managers of voluntary schools — the qualifica- tions of such managers for their work — the general interest which they take in their schools, not only as their Church schools but as the schools of their parish — the kindly and friendly relationships which they maintain towards the teachers and the scholars — and the good in- fluence which they generally exercise in the discharge of the duties of their oflice — give voluntary school manage- ment great advantages over School Board management. The Bishop of Shrewsbury, who at the time of giving evidence before the Commission was both chair- man of the School Board and manager of the Church schools at Stoke-upon-Trent, graphically summed up the difference which he had observed between the management of voluntary schools and that of Board schools in his answer to the following question : *' Do you find that the management of the Board schools by the Board is as effective as the management of your voluntary schools?" He replied: "If I may answer that question, I believe that for inducing heartiness and earnestness in the work, there is nothing like the manage- ment of a good voluntary school, where the clergy and others who are interested in the schools are continually there and take a direct and personal interest in the whole thing. The difference I can see between the voluntary school and the Board school is just the dif- ference between a private firm and a limited liability company." * * Final Report of Royal Commissi or, p. 69. CHAPTER VI. THE FEDERATION OP VOLUNTARY SCHOOLS. The Federation of Church Schools. The time has come when, in every large town in which there are several large voluntary schools, and in every rural deanery, archdeaconry, and diocese, a federation of Church schools should be formed. Each federation should have for its objects : 1. The safe keeping of school trust deeds, and the safeguarding of school buildings and property. 2. The formation and administration of a central fund for the helping of financially weak schools, and their maintenance in a state of efficiency. 3. To prevent, if possible, the transfer of any voluntary schools to School Boards ; and, if such transfer must be made, to see that it takes place on the most favourable terms as to compensation^ and the use of the buildings when not required for Board school purposes. 4. To co-operate with the National Society in its efforts on behalf of the maintenance and extension of the voluntary system of education. F 82 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 5. To secure the election of School Board can- didates who, as members of the Board, would be able to guard the interests of voluntary schools against injury from the Board system. In connection with each federation a Vigilance Com- mittee should be appointed, constituted of persons inte- rested in, and well acquainted with, the subject of elementary education and the working of the Education Acts. This Committee should keep a sharp look-out for all attacks made upon voluntary, and especially Church schools. Whether such attacks be made on the platform, in the press, or in Parliament, they should be promptly met. Inaccurate statements made for the purpose of damaging voluntary schools should be cor- rected, especially when such statements are m.ade by persons of position and influence. All letters, or para- graphs in newspapers containing statements to the preju- dice of Church schools should be noticed without delay. Their accuracy should be challenged, and the facts and authorities on which they are based demanded. This course should be promptly pursued, especially in cases in which it may be alleged that the conscience clause has been directly or indirectly violated in any Church school, or that any parents, withdrawing their children from religious instruction given in such schools, have been made to suffer on that account, or have been sub- jected to any annoyance in thus exercising their rights and liberties under the conscience clause. A common fund should be formed, out of which help should be given to all schools within the Union or Federation should the managers be unable to procure the necessary funds for their support. At the same THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 83 time the managers of the weakest schools within the Federation should be urged to do the utmost for the maintenance of their own schools, as if no help from other sources might be expected* In addition to this monetary help resulting from the union of schools, periodical conferences of their managers should be held. At such conferences there should be the fullest discussion on all matters connected with school organisation, management, and maintenance. The subject of definite and efficient religious instruction given in the schools ought to be a matter of continual concern and frequent inquiry. The giving of such reli- gious instruction, as an essential accompaniment of secular education, is the chief end for which Church schools exist; and it constitutes their sole claim upon the liberal support of Churchmen for their continued maintenance as Church schools, as distinguished from Board schools. At such conferences the introduction of any new pro- visions into the Education Code should be closely scrutinised, with the view of ascertaining how they might prejudicially or advantageously affect Church schools. Action by resolution and representation to the Education Department and the Government in favour of, or in opposition to, such provisions should be taken accord- ingly. A similar course should be pursued with reference to contemplated legislative action in Parliament on the subject of elementary education. Any proposed mea- sure, whether originated by the Government or by private members, should be promptly dealt with by the Com- mittee of the Town or Deanery Educational Federation, 84 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. who, if they deem it necessary, ought to convene a con- ference of the whole school managers in the School Federation to consider the provisions of the measure, and take action in supporting such of them as might be considered favourable to Church schools, and opposing those deemed to be detrimental to their interests. Special Steps which should be taken to avert the Transfer of a Church School to a School Board. In the event of the threatened surrender of a Church School to a School Board the managers should call a special and private meeting of Churchmen interested in the subject of education. Efforts should be made to secure as large an attendance as possible. The circum- stances of the school, and especially its pecuniary diffi- culties, should be explained to the meeting. The accounts should be submitted for inspection, and suggestions for possible reduction of expenditure and the increase of income should be invited. The source of the financial difficulties should be clearly pointed out, and an estimate given as to the additional amount of income required to carry on the school, together with suggestions as to the sources from which such additional income might be expected. The fullest comment and discussion should be encouraged ; and suggestions should be wel- comed, especially from those not connected with the management of the school, as to the best mode of not only averting the threatened transfer, but of placing the school on a firmer financial basis for the future. k. After full discussion the meeting should be asked to pledge itself, by resolution, to use its best endeavours THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 85 for the maintenance of the school. If anything like unanimity should prevail, a public meeting of the parishioners should be called at which the proceedings of the first meeting, and the resolutions passed thereat, should be submitted for their consideration. At this public meeting the results which would follow the trans- fer of the school in question to the School Board should be pointed out ; particular attention should be called to the changes which would take place in the management of the school, and ' in the religious instruction given therein, and also to the great increase in the rates which would surely result from the transfer of the school to the School Board. To avert the threatened transfer, and maintain the school in efficiency, subscribers should be asked to double or increase their subscriptions. The parishioners should be canvassed, from house to house, with the view of obtaining additional contributions. A voluntary rate, payable on the same basis as a parochial rate, might be suggested. Where the transfer of a school is rendered imminent through the inefficiency of the instruction or through errors in financial management, a visit from an expert, such as the organising master to be found now in many dioceses, may frequently avert the catastrophe. Were such efforts as have been suggested made by Churchmen in any parish to retain their threatened school, instead of hastily transferring it to a School Board, it cannot be doubted that, in most, if not in all caseSj they would awaken such an amount of interest on the subject of religious instruction generally, as an integral part of daily education, that the necessary 86 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. funds would be forthcoming and the retention and maintenance of the school would be assured. Pinal Precautions which should be taken if all Available Efforts fail to raise the Necessary Funds. After trying all possible means to raise, within the parish, funds necessary for the maintenance of a threat- ened school and without success, an appeal for help should at once be made to Churchmen within the Rural Deanery within which the school is situated. The best plan would be for the incumbent of the parish to bring the whole circumstances of the case before the next meeting of the Deanery Chapter ; or, for the incumbent and managers of the school to lay the matter before the next meeting of the Lay and Clerical Conference of the Deanery. If either meeting decide to take action and help as far as possible, the best way would be, if there be not a Deanery Fund already in existence to afford help in such a case, for the Rural Dean to issue a circular to Churchmen setting forth the circumstances of the school, and appealing to them for help on its behalf. It can scarcely be doubted that help would be readily forthcoming under such urgent and serious circumstances. The possibility of failure in obtaining the necessary funds to carry on the school, after making the efforts described, can scarcely be apprehended ; but if, in an extreme case^ the funds have, after all, not been forthcoming, then no steps with the view of effecting the transfer of the school to the Board should be taken except in the very last resort, THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 87 Final Efforts to be made before Resorting to Transfer. The most formal and public notification of the fact should be made to all Churchmen in the locality and diocese concerned. A statement of the circumstances, with all the facts, should be inserted in the local news- papers, and an urgent final appeal made for the requisite funds. The Bishop and Archdeacon should be notified of the critical state of affairs and the impending transfer of the school in the event of the required help not being forthcoming. All these steps having been taken, and all precautions observed, it would be strange indeed if they were unsuccessful in securing the funds necessary to carry on the school. Their failure can scarcely be imagined. Surely, under such circumstances, some friends of religious and educational work would be found able and willing to render the needful help. If not, then the managers of the school would have done all that was possible for them to do; and if, in such extremities, they were compelled to close their school for want of funds, they could do so with a clear conscience. They would, in that case, have little to reproach themselves with in reluctantly performing a task which necessity had thrust upon them as a painful duty. ■ ----'; »i,-*.» r'*^'',-? " !' ''% •£>' ■ft*''-' '>•"•'/ «>■»•-»•'•--'> -■- - ^z* CHAPTER VII. FREE EDUCATION. Free Education ; by Whom has it been demanded ? Have the parents demanded it? If so, where is the proof? In what way and through what medium have they spoken, and to what extent have they demanded that education shall be free ? What events, that have hitherto occurred, prove that there has been any demand from the overwhelming majority of parents who send their children to public elementary schools that school- pence should be abolished, and that education should be free? It is quite true that there are great numbers of parents who, with their very limited earnings, are unable, or barely able, to pay their children's weekly school- fees. For such parents an adequate measure of relief should be provided in a manner that would in no way make them feel under any humiliating obligation for the help received; but unfortunately there are parents who are utterly indifferent to their children's educa- tion, as they are, it is to be feared, to all that concerns their future well-being. All parties are agreed that such children should not, through the fault of their parents, THE EDUCATION BRIEF. S9 be deprived of an efficient education. Hence some provision ought to be made by a competent authority for the elementary education of such children. All arrangements with reference to the education of such children should be made direct with the managers of voluntary schools and with School Boards. Pay- ments on account of such children should be made not through the medium of the parents, but direct to the voluntary school managers or the School Board con- cerned. Gruardians of the Poor pay the School-fees of certain Children. It is true that the Guardians of the Poor pay the school-fees of great numbers of children at the present time to the extent of over ;^6o,ooo a year ; but the working of this arrangement has not been found satis- factory to either parents or school managers. There is no necessity whatever for identifying the payment of school-fees on behalf of the children of poor parents with the relief of the poor, or of paying them through the same legal officers. The Law that has made it a Crime for Parents not to send their Children to an Elementary School, is bound to provide Free Education for those Children whose Parents have not the Means to pay. Since the State by its legislation has declared it to be the legal obligation and duty of parents to see to the elementary education of their children, and has made it a crime on their part not to send their children to 9© THE EDUCATION BRIEF. school in the absence of lawful excuse, the State is bound to see that, if inability to pay the legal school- fees be the hindrance which stands in the way of the parents obeying the law, such hindrance should be removed. Thus far and to this extent there cannot be much difference of opinion about the urgent necessity for free education. Prom whom the Demand for Free Education has come. If the demand for free education has not come from the parents of the children, from whom has it come? It has come from the Secularist leaders who have other objects in view than the economic and efficient educa- tion of the children of the working-classes, and of the poor. It has come from the religious opponents of the Church who think that they see in free education the most effectual means they could employ, to control, and if possible to supersede the present management of Church schools, by not only placing restrictions upon the definite religious instruction given therein, but by bringing about a state of things which might lead to the capitulation of the whole 11,890 schools, on which more than ;^ 15,000,000 have been expended by Churchmen. The cry for free education also comes from rival poli- ticians who try to outbid each other in their large offers, almost amounting to bribes, for popular support, and who are ready to buy that support to secure for them-r selves place, power, and emoluments at a tremendous cost to the ratepayers and taxpayers. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. ^ Were free education,, however, conceded without definite provisions for the maintenance of voluntary schools and the safeguarding of their interests, revolu- tionary results, national and financial, of the gravest possible character, might surely be expected to follow. What are the Proposed Limits of Free Education? Is education to be free, irrespective of the poverty or wealth of the parents, or is it to be assisted education, for the children of parents whose circumstances necessi- tate the abolition of the school-pence that stand in the way of education, with or without any appHcation on the part of the parents for their remission? Or, is it to be free education all round, in all public elementary schools, entirely independent of the question of the ability or inability of the parents to pay the fees, and independent of any wish or preference they may have in the matter? If any parents desire to pay the school- fees for their children, are they to be legally debarred from doing so ? Then, are the schools to be free to all comers — not only to the children of the poor and the working-classes but also to the children of all ratepayers and taxpayers, who, in the event of free education, will certainly have to bear the increased burden imposed upon them to meet the enor. mous additional educational expenditure? If this ar- rangement be not contemplated, upon what principle of equity could they be excluded ? If free education ever comes to be thus established, will not the rates and taxes be enormously increased not only to provide additional school accommodation and a vast increase in the pre- 92 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. sent training of teachers, but to maintain the schools when so provided? Then, would not the idea attach- ing to the phrase "elementary education" expand as, indeed, it has expanded year by year? If so, what would be the limit to the free education given under the description "elementary" at the expense of the rate- payers and taxpayers, altogether independent of the monetary circumstances of parents ? Further, given that such free education were con- ceded, how would it affect the vested interests of great numbers of private schools scattered over all parts of the country? These are questions of a momentous character, involv- ing principles and interests which, it is to be feared, have not been sufficiently considered by those who are loud in their demand for free education, without definitely understanding that for which they ask. The Greatness of the Monetary Loss to Voluntary Schools which would result from the Abolition of School-pence. If it be proposed to abolish school-fees altogether and establish free education throughout the land, are the financial results which would follow generally under- stood ? The amount of monetary loss to the nation in- volved by the total abolition of school-fees may be realised by the consideration that the whole expenditure of public elementary schools during the year ending 31st August 1888 was ;^7, 154,116, 05. ^d., of which amount the sum of;^ 1,86 1,705 was raised by children's school- pence. During the ten years from 1878 to 1888 the total income was ;^6o,343,662, and of that amount the THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 93 sura of ^16,593,323 was contributed by children's pence. Now, if such a prolific and continually increasing source of income, as school-pence have proved them- selves to be, is to be cut off by an act of the Legislature, the State is bound to provide an equivalent school in- come, in lieu thereof, from some other quarter. The question at once arises : From what source shall it be provided? Board Schools in that case would occupy an advantageous monetary position, for they could fall back upon the ever elastic and increasing source of in- come — the rates, to make up the deficiency created by the loss of school-pence. It would be the voluntary schools that would feel the full force of the monetary loss and the financial embarrassment consequent thereon. Clearly to these must be given an increase in the Parlia- mentary grant equal to the loss in school-pence. In the Event of the Deficiency in the Income of Church Schools being met by an Increased Government Grant, would that involve In- creased Government Control? The question would at once arise, in the case of voluntary schools. How is the deficiency in their income created by the aboUtion of school-pence to be met? Is it to be met from the local rates, or by an increased Parliamentary grant ? If by an increased Parliamentary grant, no demand could fairly or equitably be made for any essential change in the principles which regulate present school management and religious in- struction. In that case there could be no justifiable reason, for the State to exercise more control over volun- 94 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. tary schools than it does now. But if the deficiency were to be made up from the rates a demand would most likely be made by the ratepayers opposed to the Church, that they should in that case have some limited control over the schools, if not, indeed, take the management, and the regulation of the religious instruc- tion given therein, entirely into their own hands. But if the deficiency created by the abolition of school-fees were met by increased Parliamentary grants, the State would not be entitled to exercise more control over the management of the schools and the religious instruction given therein than it now does. By an in- creased Parliamentary grant in such a case the State would simply be giving compensation for an income which it itself had cut off from the voluntary schools. Bflacient Control over Church Schools is already exercised by the Education Department. The State, in fact, at present exercises control over all schools built by the voluntary efforts of Churchmen, which are under Government inspection. It is difficult to see what control the State could fairly exercise over Church schools on the ground of increased Parliamentary grants more than it does now. The State inspector, as a condition of the school re- ceiving grants, inspects the school buildings, examines the arrangements of the school, tests the knowledge of the children in secular subjects, scrutinises the school accounts, and compares the vouchers with the different items of alleged expenditure. The amount of the Government grant, and indeed whether there shall be a grant at all, are greatly dependent on the report which THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 95 the Inspector renders to the Education Department in respect of these arrangements. What greater amount of control could be exercised by the State over Church schools consistently with their present management and freedom of religious instruction ? Increased Government Monetary Control over Church Schools is not objected to, if consis- tent with their Present Principles of Manage- ment and Freedom of Religious Teaching. But if, in the event of an increased grant, the State could devise some plan by which there could be ex- ercised an improved public control over Church schools, consistently with the principles of their present manage- ment and the unrestricted liberty to Churchmen to give definite religious instruction therein, subject to the conscience clause, there could be no objection to it. If Parliament should think well to abolish school-fees, establish free education, and give increased grants to Church schools in lieu of the income from school-pence which, in that case, it would have taken away, and, as the result, should wish to exercise a larger degree of control over the schools, consistently with their present management and religious instruction, let it do so. In that case Churchmen would have no just cause of com- plaint. Free Education not objected to by Managers of Church Schools, on Condition that their Vested Interests are protected. Subject to the preservation of the present principles of management of Church schools, if increased Parlia- g6 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. mentary grants were made in lieu of lost school-pence, and the unrestricted liberty of giving religious instruction therein, were preserved — a liberty which the Church now enjoys in accordance with her trust deeds, limited only by the conscience clause — would there be any objection to increased State control over Church schools, consis- tently with these provisions, with the view of increasing their efficiency for secular education ? There could not be any reasonable objection to such an arrangement, and, subject to all these provisions, the promoters and supporters of Church schools could not be opposed to free education. At least it is difficult to see why they should be opposed to it on these terms. If Parliament chooses to establish free education, according to a plan that will be consistent with the monetary vested interests of Churchmen in their school property, and consistent with their civil and religious rights to manage their own schools and to give religious instruction therein, on conditions to which the State itself has long since and repeatedly given its assent, Churchmen, as such, can have no objection whatever. Given that the Deficiency created by Loss of School-pence were made up from the Rates, even in that Case Partial and Specific Monetary Control by Representatives of the Ratepayers would not be objected to. Suppose that the deficiency of income, created by the abolition of school-fees, had in the case of volun- tary schools to be made up from the rates, would not that fact entitle the ratepayers to exercise general THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 97 control over such schools ? It is at once admitted that in such a case the ratepayers would be entitled to exercise some control over the schools in return for the contribution to their support out of the rates ; but then the question arises, what kind of control should that be ? It should not be a control of greater dimensions, on account of the grant from the rates, than the State or Government claims to exercise on account of the grant which it now gives from Parliamentary funds — that is to say, it should be a control consistent with leaving the general management of the schools and the religious teaching given within them intact, as provided for in the school trust deeds. To such local control, yet to be defined, in return for a charge upon—* we will not say a grant from — the rates. Churchmen can have no reasonable objection. But an increased Parlia- mentary grant in lieu of school-pence is what Churchmen should demand. Such Partial and Specific Monetary Control on the Part of the Ratepayers should be of the same Character in Principle, as is now ex- ercised by the Education Department over every Elementary School in Receipt of a Government Grant. Would such a grant from the rates, on such conditions, be consistent with any principle admitted and acted upon by the Government and School Boards at the present time ? Certainly ; the whole principle involved in Church schools receiving support from a portion of the rates, and yet taking their own free and independent course in 98 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. the matter of school management and religious instruc- tion, is illustrated by the fact that Parliament every year makes a grant to Board schools and yet does not make exorbitant demands for control over them in return. Having given the grant when earned on principles assented to, it leaves the School Board to manage its own schools, and determine the character of religious instruction within them, as freely as if no grant had been given. This is exactly the kind of limited control that Church- men might readily concede to the ratepayers in the event of Church schools receiving aid from the rates. Prom whatever Source the Deficiency in Income, created by the Loss of School-pence, is made up, the Rights of Churchmen to manage their own Schools, and their Freedom to give Re- ligious Instruction therein, must remain intact. But the foregoing arguments are not all that can be stated in support of a claim set up by Churchmen for the preservation of their monetary vested interests, and civil and religious rights, in the maintenance of their schools, as Church schools, in the event of free education being established. Given that Parliament abolishes school-fees, and thereby deprives Church schools of one-third of their income, the State is bound to make up the deficiency which it has created in that income. The simplest and most direct way for the State to do so is by an increased Parliamentary grant. But what the Church is most interested in is in seeing that, from whatever source THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 9^ Parliament authorises the monetary supply to meet the financial deficiency, which it has itself created in voluntary schools by the abolition of school- pence, this change shall not involve any infringe- ment of the rights and liberties of Churchmen which they now possess as to school management and religious instruction. For the G-overnment to claim for itself or for Rate- payers any Control over Voluntary Schools, inconsistent with the Principles of their Trust Deeds, would be a Breach of Trust. In the event of voluntary schools being aided by an additional Government grant, or by a charge upon the rates, in lieu of lost school-fees, it would be a serious breach of trust for the State, in consequence thereof, to claim for itself, or for the ratepayers, any amount of control over voluntary schools inconsistent with the provisions of their various trust deeds. This breach of trust would be aggravated by the fact that the State has itself from time to time given to these provisions its solemn sanction, and that on their basis Church schools have been built and maintained at great cost by the liberality of Churchmen. Agreements between the State and Voluntary Schools. From the year 1833, when the State gave its first grant to aid in the building of schools for elementary education, it gave these grants on terms agreed to between itself on the one side, and the National Society and the British and Foreign School Society on the other lOO THE EDUCATION BRIEF. side. In the first instance it gave grants only to schools in connection with one or other of these societies; it being an essential condition in both cases that religious instruction should be a necessary part of daily education, they differing from each other only as to the dogmatic character of the instruction, and the formal method in which it should be given. The National Society represented the Church exclu- sively, and, therefore, in schools in union with it, the children were all instructed in the doctrines and principles of the Church of England. The British and Foreign School Society represented various forms of Noncon- formity, and therefore the religious teaching in schools connected with it, to meet the circumstances of the case, had to be of a general and indefinite character, and necessarily could not be distinctive of any one denomina- tion. And although, later on, grants were made to schools not in connection with either of these societies, still, until 1870, no grant was ever made to any school in which religious instruction did not form an essential part of daily education. All Government Grants made from 1833 to 1870 were made on the Distinct Understanding that the Trusts Deeds of Voluntary Schools should be held inviolate. In all the years from 1833 to 1870, during which the State gave grants in aid of the building and maintenance of voluntary schools, the State gave the grants, and the Church and other religious bodies received the grants, on the express understanding that the trust deeds of the several schools thus aided were in no way to be com- THE EDUCATION BRIEF. ; lOT promised by the receipt of such grants, and that the pro- visions of the trust deeds were to be duly carried out. The management was to be in accordance with their several trust deeds, the right to give religious instruction was unrestricted, subject to the conscience clause, and the terms of the deeds were to be inviolate. In this faith, relying on the covenant-keeping character of the State, and never doubting that it would fulfil its contracts, the promoters and supporters of voluntary schools spent im- mense sums of their own money on school building and maintenance. Whatever changes, therefore. Parliament may see fit to introduce into the organisation, administration, and machinery of elementary schools, the State is honourably bound to see that they shall be of such a cha- racter as shall be consistent with its solemn covenant with the Church and other religious bodies which have in past years not only built and maintained their schools, depending on the good faith of the State, but have also provided for the education of the children of the poor, before the State itself recognised its responsibility in the matter. To enforce upon Voluntary Schools Statutory Conditions of Receiving Government Grants, inconsistent with the Principles of their Trust Deeds, would almost amount to Con- fiscation of their Property. It has been shown that the promoters of the volun- tary system, at great cost to themselves and their friends, built and maintained schools on the faith of the State honourably keeping its contract in the manner described. . The amounts expended by the Church and D^*c -^c.^ c n|02 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Other religious bodies respectively, extending over a long series of years have been stated. The school buildings, school teachers and staff of the Church alone from 1811 to 1886 represent an expendi- ture, exclusive of the value of the sites, of ;^i 5,000,000 provided by the voluntary contributions of Church- men. The amount spent on school maintenance, derived from the same voluntary sources, has reached a sum considerably more than ;^ 15,000,000. This vast property, created and put in trust for providing education for the children of the working-classes and the poor, in accordance with the doctrines and principles of the Church of England, would be practically confis- cated by the State if it created statutory conditions inconsistent with and in violation of the trust deeds of the schools, on compliance with which only future grants would be given to them. Churchmen in such a case would no longer make voluntary sacrifices to carry on their schools, as they could then only do so in alienation from the objects for which they were built and in direct opposition to the intention of their founders. Thus in that case the whole burden of the support of all elementary schools would have to fall upon the rates and taxes. The Tendency of Educational Legislation as proved by the Conditions under which Volun- tary Schools are transferred to School Boards, is to authorise Boards to take Possession of them without a Fair Rent or Monetary Compensation. It may be said that in the event of the School Board system being forced upon every parish the State would THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 103 give the Church equitable compensation for her large monetary vested interests in her schools. Such, no doubt, would be the natural presumption ; but the State might easily raise difficulties on the ground of the school buildings being trust property for educational purposes, and it might say: ^* If Churchmen do not carry out these objects on the principles of the new educational legisla- tion which superseded the several school trusts, then the property must be appropriated to national educational uses, according to the new educational provisions which have been formulated and embodied in the legislation of Parliament." In fact, the State is already acting upon this principle. In the case of voluntary schools transferred to School Boards under the 23rd sec. of the Education Act of 1870, when the managers of such schools ask for compensation or a fair rent for the use of the schools by the School Board, the Education Department say to them in something like the following words : " No ; you can have no compensation given to you — you have no legal claim to it — you cannot even have a substantial rent for the premises. It must be a mere peppercorn rent that we will sanction being given to you by the School Board. The school buildings are not private property — they are trust property and put in trust for educational uses. You have ceased to use them for the purpose for which they were put in trust. It is true the Legislature, by its enactments on the education question, may have brought about a state of things that rendered it impossible for you to keep the school open, still we must recognise the existing facts, and if you not only close your school but hand it over to the I04 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. School Board, you must remember that there are no individuals who have any private beneficiary monetary interest in the school, and, therefore, there are no persons to whom compensation can be given or a substantial rent annually paid." Resolution of the Education Department as to Compensation for Transferred Voluntary Schools— its possible Results if strictly carried out. In proof of what is above represented it may be stated that the following resolution, referring to volun- tary schools transferred to School Boards, was adopted by the Committee of Council on Education on the 17th July, 187 1 : — "As to the terms of the arrange- ment — no payment of rent beyond that charged upon, or reserved out of the premises by the original lease, and no other valuable consideration, except an under- taking to insure and keep the premises in repair and to keep down or redeem charges or incumbrances on the same will, in general, be sanctioned." The condition of things that might, under given cir- cumstances, result from the action of the State with refer- ence to transferred school property has been described ; but such a thing can never come to pass if Churchmen will only awake in time to a sense of the great interests that they have at stake in this all important question, and will send mernbers to Parliament who will properly repre- sent their views and guard their interests in this matter, which is one of the very greatest national importance. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 105 Given that the present Income from School-pence be swept away, what will be the necessary- Additional Charge upon the Rates, or Taxes, or both, to meet the Deficiency thereby created? At present the amount required would not be less than some ;^2, 000,000 a year, which would have to be increased, as the school-pence increased in the past, from year to year owing to the increase in the number of children to be educated. But it has been proved repeatedly that when either the rates or taxes are a source of revenue, the administration of such funds is attended with far greater expenses than have ever characterised the administration of the amount coming to a school from voluntary contributions or school-pence. Take, for instance, the building of a Board school from the rates. The cost of providing school accommodation for each child in average attendance is j[^\2 10^., as against ;^5 7^. in the case of a voluntary school. Then take the annual maintenance. The cost of maintenance per child in average attendance in a Board school is, a3 has been already shewn, ^2 5^*. 3^?., as against jQ\ \6s, 4^/. in the case of a voluntary school. Further, given that by the abolition of school-fees and the possibly intolerable conditions imposed upon voluntary schools, especially Church of England schools, such as the conditions of the receipt of aid in Heu of lost school-fees, the Volun- tary schools had ceased to exist and the whole elementary schools of England and Wales were thrown upon the rates and taxes, what an enormous amount of additional expenditure that would involve ! I06 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Some general idea of the amount of additional national and parochial expenditure which would be required, in that case, may be gathered from the following facts. The number of Board schools throughout England and Wales is 4,590, with accommodation for 1,826,392, and an average attendance of 1,380,208. The expendi- ture on behalf of these, including all expenses, amounted for the year ending 31st August, 1888, to, in England, £S^^2>1^^Z% and in Wales, ;^3i5,292, making a total of ;^5,342,93i- If such be the immense expenditure for the mainten- ance of the present number of Board schools from the sources of rates, taxes and school-pence, what will be the total amount required for school maintenance when not only will the whole expenditure have to come from the rates and taxes, school-pence having been done away with, but 11,890 at present voluntary schools, with accommodation for 2,606,886 scholars, and an average attendance of 1,669,222, will be thrown absolutely as a vast additional charge upon the rates and taxes? This will be an interesting problem for politicians to solve, and to make clear to their constituents, before taking any action prejudicial to the continuance of voluntary schools. The Inaccuracy of the Phrase " Free Education." Strictly speaking there can be no such thing as " free education." The building and maintenance of elemen- tary schools involve expenditure ; and that expenditure must be met from some source or other. At present, in voluntary schools, it is met from endowments, voluntary .THE EDUCATION BRIEF. i07 contributions, school-pence, and Government grants. The total income in children's pence from voluntary schools and Board schools in the year ending 31st August, 1889, amounted to ;^i, 86 1,704. If that source of income be cut off from the elementary schools by Parliament enacting that all or a portion of the school-fees shall be abolished, it is evident that the deficiency thus created by an Act of Parliament must be met from some other source. From what Source would the Deficiency created by the Abolition of Children's Pence be met? The feeling is now almost universal amongst the rate- payers that the local burdens imposed upon them, and the heavy charges on the rates for the building and maintenance of Board schools, are as heavy as they can reasonably be expected to bear. They will no doubt earnestly and loudly protest against any addi- tional charge being imposed upon the rates, to meet the deficiency of income in elementary schools which would be created by the abolition of the present school-fees. The conviction is general that, if the school-fees are abolished Government grants to all schools concerned must be proportionately increased. The effect of this will be to throw upon the taxpayers the burden which hitherto had been borne by very many thousands of parents throughout the country, or indeed it may be that the deficiency will have to be made up from the rates. Now elementary education, as has been pointed out, must be paid for — it cannot be free. It certainly may for the time being be free to the parents of the children, so far as the abolition of their weekly I08 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. pence is concerned ; but it is most likely that, in the case of the vast majority of parents who may be assumed to be in a fairly well-to-do position, they will have to pay in the end far more by way of rates all their life for the education of the children of others, whether they have children of their own or not, than they would have to pay if they had children of their own and if their payments on behalf of education had been limited to fees in respect of their own children. So that it may be emphatically reiterated that there is a very real sense in which education cannot be absolutely free. Proposal to make Education Free in Board Schools only. There are three ways by which free education may be provided. There might, for instance, be established a partial system of free schools by allowing every Board school to become absolutely free. Under this system the voluntary schools would be left as they are and would have no additional grant. The adoption of this method would certainly mean the ultimate absolute extinction of voluntary schools, in many poor school districts. It can scarcely be expected that with such a Board and volun- tary school side by side, poor parents, as a rule, would send their children to a school where they had to pay fees, when by sending them to another school they could have their education entirely free. In some respects, however, in well-to-do districts, the voluntary schools might possibly become more select and more efficient, and if they could accordingly raise their school-fees they might in many instances be self- supporting. All this, however, could only apply to certain THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 109 neighbourhoods in which there were parents of a wage- earning class possessed of sufficient means to render them independent of the consideration whether they paid school-fees or not. In the case of the vast majority of poor school districts, the very contrary of this would certainly be the result, and the competition of the absolutely free Board school, side by side with the volun- tary school, would ultimately become destructive of the existence of the latter. Proposal to make all Schools Free. The second proposal is that additional grants should be given to all schools — voluntary and Board schools alike. 'In that case these additional grants in lieu of lost school- pence to voluntary schools would be coupled with the demand that the ratepayers, as such, should be adequately represented on the boards of management of such voluntary schools. Churchmen, however, could not con- sistently receive additional grants for the maintenance of their schools, in lieu of abolished school-pence on such radically revolutionising terms as these. Such a change would be a violation of Church school trust deeds. It would be destructive of the essential characteristics of the schools which were, from their origin, under purely voluntary management. The primary purpose to be served by such schools was not only to give the children a general education, but that religious instruction should be a fundamental part of it, and that such instruction should be according to the doctrines and principles of the Church of England. no THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Representative of School Board, or County Coun- cil, or other Authority, to be placed on Board of Management as a Condition of the Receipt of Additional Grant. The third proposal is that voluntary schools in con- sideration of their receipt of additional Parliamentary grants in lieu of abolished school-fees, should accept on their board of management a representative of the local School Board, County Council, District Council or other authority in that behalf. The duties of such a representative, on the board of management, should be limited to his seeing to the proper application of the Government grant and to the general finance of the school. It should be no part of his duty to interfere with the appointment of teachers, with the general management of the school, or with any arrangements pertaining to the giving of religious instruction. To such an arrangement as this no Churchman, possessed of any business-like ideas, could reasonably object. Such a proposal is in perfect accordance with the control which the Education Department exercises over the finance, the suitability of the building, and the sanitary condition of every voluntary school in receipt of a Government grant. If carried out it would only be a local extension of a control which the Education Department, as the central authority, in every case insists upon and exercises as an essential condition to the payment of the annual grant. Indeed, so far from such an arrangement being in any way to be deprecated, it might in numbers of cases prove of great advantage to the schools themselves. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Ill It might to a considerable extent remove that suspicion and distrust which exist in the minds of many opponents of voluntary schools on the false assumption that there is something of a reserved and secret character about the application of moneys, and the general management of voluntary schools, which those responsible for their management do not wish the general public to know. Voluntary schools, have nothing to conceal, nothing to be ashamed of in the conduct of their financial affairs and general management. There is no reason whatever why a financial local representative should not, under the altered circumstances described and as the condition of an additional grant, occupy a seat on the management of every voluntary school in the kingdom. According to Article 89 of the new Education Code of 1890, the accounts of each voluntary public elemen- tary school, in receipt of a Government grant, will be annually audited, and also open to inspection on certain days and at certain hours. Given the Abolition of all School-fees, what would be the Resulting Additional Annual Cost to the Nation? Assuming that all school-fees were abolished and education, so far as their non-payment is concerned, were declared free, the additional cost to the nation would, to begin with, be in round figures some ^3,000,000 a year. This will be seen from the following consider- ations. The total amount of the school-pence, as has been already stated, amounts at present to ;^i, 86 1,704. 112 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. For years past the school-fees have been rapidly in- creasing. It may be reasonably assumed that, if still retained, they would go on proportionately increasing in the future by the annually increasing number of children in attendance at the various elementary schools, so that, in estimating the amount of money required to meet the deficiency of school income created by the abolition of school-fees, their present amount is not to be taken as the basis of calculation. The estimate should include what they would be some years hence were they still paid. And, if these considerations are taken into account, a much larger sum, from parochial or national funds, will eventually be required to meet the monetary deficiency created by the abolition of school-pence, than the amount required as a substitute for the school income which they now supply, and that amount would not be less than ;^3,ooo,ooo a year. Given the Abolition of School-fees and the Closing of all Voluntary Schools, what would be the Resultant Additional Cost to the Ratepayers, in Providing the Requisite School Accommo- dation, in Lieu of that which Voluntary Schools supplied up to the Date of their Closing ? This is a most important view of the subject to consider. Given the possibility of the Parliamentary abolition of school-fees and the refusal on the part of the State equitably to compensate the managers of voluntary schools for their loss, or that it should offer them compensa- tion on conditions that they could not accept consis- tently with the objects for which their schools were THE EDUCATION BRIEF. II3 erected, the provisions of their trust deeds, and the great interests involved in the preservation of their present liberty to give definite religious instruction to the children in attendance, the whole thing might result in the closing, at least in most cases, of the voluntary Church schools. In that case the country would be liable to have to provide from its own direct resources, or locally from the resources of the ratepayers, school accommodation to the same extent as is now provided by the voluntary schools, which for the year 1888-1889 is 3,547,000 school places. It is out of the question to assume, for a moment, that under the circumstances the State would proceed to confiscate the property of Churchmen in their school buildings to the value of over ;^i 5,000,000, though some might be voluntarily surrendered to School Boards. Now, taking the accommodation as at present provided in the voluntary schools which would have to be supplied from national or local sources, were Board schools forced upon every parish, and supposing that the expenditure were at the same rate as that which has been required to provide the present accommodation in Board schools, namely, ;^i2 los. per scholar, the cost would in that case amount to considerably over ;2^4o,ooo,ooo, assuming that Churchmen insisted upon retaining for their own use their school buildings. Given the Closing of all Voluntary Schools, what would be the Additional Cost of School Main- tenance thrown upon the Ratepayers ? If the voluntary schools were closed, there would be n loss of ;^i, 240,000 a year in school -pence, and a further H 114 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. loss of voluntary contributions to the extent of ;j^745,34o, making a total loss of over ;j^2, 000,000 per annum. But as in that case the whole pubUc elementary education of England would have to be provided for by the School Boards, there must be added 8j. 4^. per head of the average attendance at Board schools, which is for 1888- 1889 the cost of maintenance per scholar in Board schools in excess of the rate of maintenance per scholar in voluntary schools, making a total of about ;^934,ooo to be added to the two millions already indicated. Consequently, by the closing of voluntary schools, the additional charge on the rates and taxes might be roughly estimated at some ;2£^3, 000,000 a year for school maintenance, besides the forty millions in capital with which the ratepayers and taxpayers would be hable to be charged for the providing of lost voluntary school ac- commodation. The prospect of such an expenditure, to begin with, which would undoubtedly increase year by year, is anything but a pleasing prospect either to the ratepayer or taxpayer, leaving all other important con- siderations out of the question. Would any candidate for a seat on a School Board, with the view of furthering his election, venture to appear before his constituency declaring to them that he was prepared to sanction such a reckless waste of national provision for education as would be involved in the closing of all voluntary schools, and that he was, in lieu thereof, prepared to cover the country with Board schools pro- vided at a cost which might rise to some forty millions for their erection, besides a certain additional expenditure of some three millions a year for their maintenance ? Would THE EDUCATION BRIEF. II5 any candidate for a seat in Parliament have the hardihood to appear before his would-be constituents and ask them to return him as their Member, pledged to bring about free education on such terms as would most surely result in the destruction of voluntary schools, and the entailing of this vast additional expenditure upon the nation in order to provide Board schools in their stead. If free education, except on such terms, will not be satisfactory to the opponents of the Church who, as the Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain, M.P., stated in his speech in the House of Commons,* wish to make free education a means of destroying voluntary schools and superseding them by Board schools, it may cer- tainly be predicted that, if the electors of this country know what they are about, it will be a long time in the history of England before free education is conceded by Parliament on terms which would be attended with such disastrous results. Declaration of the Government on the Question of Free Education. In the discussion which took place on this subject in the House of Commons on Friday, the 21st February, 1890, the Right Hon. Sir W. Hart-Dyke, Vice-President of the Committee of Council on Education for England and Wales, in his official capacity made statements to the following effect; — There were 14,659 voluntary schools under Government inspection in England out of a total of 19,221 — 76 per cent. — as compared with 500 voluntary schools out of 3,100 in Scotland — 16 * On the 2 1 St February, 1890, Il6 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. per cent. The total sum received in fees throughout England in the year ending 31st August, 1888, was ^^1,862,300. Of this sum ;2ri,24i,ooo was received in voluntary schools, and ;^62 1,300 in Board schools, making a total of ;^i,862,3oo. During the same period ;^746,ooo was derived from vohmtary contributions; so that if free education were carried out to the injury and eventual destruction of voluntary schools an addi- tional sum of ;^2, 600,000 would be required for annual maintenance alone. But this was not all. Between 1870 and 1882 Government building grants to the extent of ;^3i2,2oo had been met by local contributions of ;£i, 348,000 to provide additional school accommoda- tion. And in addition to all this 4,806 more voluntary schools were erected, enlarged, or improved, without any Government aid, at a cost to the promoters of at least six millions. This great effort had been made to secure the liberty of religious teaching, dear to the promoters — Churchmen, Roman CathoUc, and Wesleyans alike. And if any free education scheme were to sweep away these schools they would have to be supplied at the cost of the rates. He said he would take no part, so far as he was concerned, in the advocacy of a scheme which he considered endangered the future of the great voluntary system. He made it a sine qua non of any scheme, not only that it should be thoroughly safeguarded in all its details, but that it should bear, not only on its face but in its working, ample security as regarded the future of voluntary schools. He had no doubt that many honourable members advocated this change, that is, free education, as sincere educationalists, on the ground of simple justice to the parents; but there were other THE EDUCATION BRIEF. II7 honourable members who advocated the change because it would be destructive of the voluntary system of the country. Mr. Arthur Acland, the mover of the motion, gave notice in the previous Session of a proposal which indicated a desire for the establishment of universal School Boards, and, in the face of opinions like those, the Government could not be blamed if they viewed the question as one first and foremost in reference to the future of voluntary schools. The Right Hon. E. Stanhope, on the same occasion, also stated on behalf of the Government : " I candidly avow that in nothing we propose shall we damage or injure the prospects of National schools." CHAPTER VIII. TRAINING COLLEGES FOR DENOMI- NATIONAL SCHOOLS. Importance of the Work. Next in importance to the work of providing Church elementary school accommodation, and raising funds for the annual maintenance of the schools, is the making provision for the education and training of competent and suitable teachers. The importance of this work cannot be exaggerated. Without properly qualified teachers possessed of adequate religious and secular knowledge, and ability intelligently to communicate that which they know to the children, all religious as well as other teaching must be a comparative failure. No mere material machinery, without a properly qualified living agent, would be of any use in furthering the highest ends of religious and moral instruction and training — an object which is ever to be kept in view as the chief end of all elementary educational work. Instructors of Children ought Themselves to have been instructed and trained. The teachers in Church elementary schools have, as a rule, been taught in the schools in which they became scholars and pupil-teachers. Thence they have passed THE EDUCATION BRIEF. II9 into training colleges. In due time they have emerged from these institutions qualified, with respect to educational attainments as well as to moral character, to become in their turn the responsible teachers of others. Through her training colleges, the Church is not only enabled to provide teachers for her own schools, but actually educates and prepares for their future work some two-thirds of the entire number of trained teachers in the kingdom. The Effectiveness of Religious Teaching greatly depends upon the Teacher. In Church schools, definite instruction in religious truth being an essential part of the education to be given, it is of the utmost importance that the teacher who is to impart such instruction should himself be well grounded in the knowledge of religious truth as taught by the Church of England. And if circumstances should lead him to become a teacher in a Board school he will, to the advantage of his scholars, carry with him into his work a well-disciplined mind, moral habits, and a style and tone of religious thought which, in the Church Train- ing College, he has acquired. He will thus be the better able to teach in a Board school that amount of reli- gious truth which the School Board under which he holds office may allow to be communicated to the children under his care. 120 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Training Colleges are the Strongholds of the Church's Elementary Schools. This much may be stated that no liberty of teaching religious truth in any elementary school would be of much value without a well-informed, well-disciplined, and thoroughly experienced and efficient teacher. The training colleges in which teachers are prepared for their work and from which they go forth as approved religious and secular instructors of children, may there- fore be said to be, to an extent not yet fully understood, the strongholds of the Church. They are essential, not only to the maintenance of her elementary schools, but, to her permeation of a great portion of Board schools with the moral and religious influences exercised by teachers educated and trained in these most valuable institutions. Pupil-Teachers have no Certainty of Beceiving Religious Instruction in Board Schools. In Church schools pupil-teachers are educated and trained by schoolmasters and schoolmistresses of their own ecclesiastical communion, and their own religious belief. They can thus gradually make progress in the knowledge of the truth as taught by their teachers — the same truth, which in due time and in their turn they will be required to teach to others. In Board schools pupil- teachers have no guarantee that they shall receive any instruction in the facts and doctrines of religion, nor have they any assurance that the principal teachers, under whom they may be placed shall be of any religious persuasion whatsoever. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 121 Day Training Colleges. While holding that it is of the greatest moment to maintain the existing residential training colleges in their highest state of efficiency, it is interesting to observe that the new Education Code of 1890, for the first time, provides for non-residential day training colleges, with the condition that every such college must be attached to some university, or college of university rank; fur- ther, that the authorities of a day training college must be a local committee, who will be held responsible for the discipline and moral supervision of the students, and for their regular attendance at professorial or other lectures.* It is to be hoped that these day training colleges will afford a long-wished-for opportunity to great numbers of persons, especially churchwomen, of good education, superior abilities, and social status, to qualify them- selves professionally for the position of teachers in public elementary schools, for which many of them are eminently suited. This provision of the new Education Code certainly opens up a very large sphere of usefulness, admission to which has hitherto unfortunately been barred to the class to whom reference has been made. They will now, no doubt, gladly avail themselves of it, and of the opportunities which it will give them of devoting themselves to such an honourable and useful calling, with the prospect of rendering valuable services to Church education, and of obtaining a fair remuneration for their labours. * New Education Code for 1890, arts. 111-112. CHAPTER IX. RELIGIOUS AND MORAL TRAINING. Withdrawal of the State from Examination in Religious Instruction since the Passing of the Education Act of 1870. By the Education Act of 1870 instruction in religious knowledge ceased to be a necessary condition of a Government grant to any elementary school.* By the provisions of that Act all official interest of the State in religious instruction in elementary schools ceased, and even the Government inspectors were no longer required to examine the children of the schools, committed to their supervision, in their knowledge of any religious subject. The law Relating to Instruction in Religious Subjects in Voluntary Elementary Schools. The law regulating the communication of religious instruction in voluntary schools is as follows : — ^' It shall not be required as a condition of any child being admitted into or continuing in the school that he shall attend, or abstain from attending any Sunday-school or * Education Act, 1870, Sec. 7. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 23 any place of religious worship or that he shall attend any religious observance or any instruction ia religious subjects, in the school or elsewhere, from which observance or instruction he may be withdrawn by his parent or that he shall, if withdrawn by his parent, attend the school on any day exclusively set apart for religious observance by the religious body to which his parent belongs. The time or times during which any religious observance is practised or instruction in religious sub- jects is given at any meeting of the school, shall be either at the beginning or at the end, or at the beginning and the end of such meeting, and shall be inserted in a time- table to be approved by the Education Department, and to be kept permanently and conspicuously affixed in every school-room, and any scholar may be withdrawn by his parent from such observance or instruction without for- feiting any of the other benefits of the school."."^ It will be seen, then, that the law as to the com- munication of religious instruction in voluntary schools, within the time or times specified in the time-table of each school approved of by Her Majesty's inspector, permits the managers the fullest liberty, without any restraint whatever, to communicate religious instruction to the children in attendance in the manner and form which they may think well ; and, on the other hand, the law secures to the parents of children attending school the fullest liberty to withdraw them from the whole or a part of the religious teaching should they desire so to do. * Education Act, 1870, Sec. 7. 124 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. The Law with Reference to the Limits of Religious Teaching in Board Schools. The law regulating the communication of religious instruction in Board Schools is as follows : — *' No religious catechism or religious formulary which is distinctive of any particular denomination shall be taught in the school.""^ The law may, therefore, be taken as investing each School Board with the power of deciding whether instruction in religious subjects shall or shall not be part of the education given within any of its schools, and if so, how much or how little that religious instruction shall be, or in what form it shall be given, with this simple exception — that in giving such religious instruc- tion no use must be made in the school of any religious catechism or formulary distinctive of any particular religious denomination. In explanation of the extent of the religious instruction which might be given in any Board school, with the sanction of the School Board within the area defined and restricted by the words already quoted, known as " the Cowper-Temple clause," the late Mr. Cumin, the then chief of the permanent staff in the Education Department, said, when giving evidence before the Royal Commission on Education : "The Act says no religious catechism or religious formulary which is distinctive of any particular de- nomination shall be taught in the school ; but it does not say that no views of a particular denomination shall be taught: that is an entirely different thing from * Education Act, 1870, Sec. 14. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 25 excluding religion. What I mean is, that you could have an explanation of particular religious views in a school, provided that you do not use a religious catechism or religious formulary distinctive of any particular denomination. You might explain the differ- ence between the different denominations, but you must not use a religious catechism or religious formulary distinctive of any particular denomination — that is to say, that, supposing, instead of using a religious cate- chism or a religious formulary, you merely explain the particular view that was taken by a particular denomi- nation, you are quite within the Act of Parliament, and could not be considered to have violated it; but you cannot use the actual formulary, though substantially you might teach it." * Thus, it will be seen, that should a School Board authorise the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Apostles' Creed, to be taught in its schools, the Cowper-Temple clause, literally and strictly interpreted, would appear to allow it so to do. The Education Department, however, having regard to the spirit of the Act of 1870, would probably rule that the Creed is ex- cluded; though it would be difficult to prove, that, .it is " distinctive of any particular religious denomination.": Iteligioi;LS Instruction as given in Voluntary Schools and Board Schools contrasted. To sum up the actual difference between the legal provisions for communicating instruction in religious * First Report of Royal Commission (Mr. Cumin's evidence, 484). 126 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. subjects in voluntary schools and Board Schools, it may be thus described. In voluntary schools it is not left to managers to decide whether or not religious instruction shall be given in the schools under their management : it must be given under the provision of the trust deed. In Board schools, whether any religious instruction at all shall be given is a matter dependent upon the will of the members of each succeeding School Board. As to the character of the religious instruction given in voluntary Church schools, it must be definite and according to the doctrines and principles of the Church of England. The managers have nothing to do with prescribing what its nature shall be. But in the case of Board schools, if it be decided to give religious instruction, it further rests with the Board to say what shall be its quantity and character. Then as to the provisions under the Act, there is nothing in the conscience clause, to restrain managers from giving religious instruction to all comers ; while the fullest liberty is guaranteed to parents to withdraw their children from such religious instruction if they are minded so to do. But in the case of Board schools, even should School Boards decide that there shall be religious instruction in their schools, and that it shall be of a given character, their liberty is limited within the area of not using, for the purposes of instruction, any religious catechism or religious formulary distinctive of any religious denomination. Mr. Cumin, in the course of his evidence before the Royal Commission, made statements as to the liberty of School Board teachers to teach, with the authority of the Board itself, the same truths as are embodied THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 27 in a distinctive formulary, although the formulary itself may not be used as a means of instruction. That, how- ever, would undoubtedly be regarded as a suspicious straining of the wording of the Act, and would challenge an immense amount of opposition. One thing, however, is clear, and about which there can be no misunderstanding, and that is, that even if, with the consent of the School Board under which a teacher acts, he were to teach, as a matter of historical education, the dogmas contained in any prohibited re- ligious catechism or formulary, though he might not use the catechism or formulary itself, he could not inculcate upon the children so taught a belief in the doctrines in which he instructed them. Here, then, is the essential difference between voluntary schools and Board schools as to the limits of the legal liberty of religious instruction. In no Board school can a teacher inculcate belief in such doctrines taught, while in the voluntary school there is unlimited liberty not only of teaching but of inculcating belief in the religious instruction given. Any religious teaching that is wanting in this latter characteristic must be very unreal, if not insincere, and is utterly useless for all practical purposes of forming character and influencing conduct. 128 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Is the Country in Favour of Instruction in Morals and Religion in Elementary Schools? There is no evidence which would afford the slightest grounds of doubt as to the fact that the people of England demand religious instruction as an essential part of elementary education. Among the great number of witnesses who gave evidence before the Royal Commission on Education, representing the Church, the various religious bodies, the Education Department, inspectors of schools, school teachers, Chairmen of School Boards and Voluntary School managers, there were none whose evidence went to show that there was a desire upon the part of the people of England and Wales to exclude religious instruction from elemen- tary education. The question was raised before the Royal Commission whether instruction in morals could not be effectively given apart from instruction in religious truth, but the evidence adduced proved that it is impossible to give efficient instruction on questions of morality without basing such instruction upon religious obligations. In fact, instruction in morals and instruction in religious subjects are inseparably connected and cannot be separated. All true morality must have for its basis the truths and principles of revealed religion. The Rev. J. Duncan, Secretary of the National Society, testified that it was impossible to draw a distinction between religious and moral teaching, as moral teaching is, of necessity, the result of religious teaching. In his view, moral obligations could not be effectually enforced without teaching the religious doctrines on which they are THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 12^9 based. The late Mr. Matthew Arnold, one of Her Majesty's chief inspectors of schools, stated that he had never seen successful teaching in which the teaching of morals was separated from the usual religious sanctions. As to the prevalent opinion in the country on this subject, there can be no doubt. The fact that since 1870 there has been such a vast increase of voluntary schools erected and maintained at a great pecuniary sacrifice on the part of their supporters, and attended by the children of a very large proportion of the population, schools in which instruction in religious subjects is an essential part of the education imparted to the children, affords in itself a convincing proof that the large majority of parents desire religious instruction for their children. Further, that out of 2,225 School Boards representing more than 16,000,000 of the population of England and Wales, only seven School Boards in England and fifty in Wales, according to the Parliamentary Returns from 1879 to 1886,* have dispensed entirely with religious teaching or observance, shews that whether parents send their children to voluntary or Board schools, the pre- ference is almost universal for religious instruction. With reference to the School Boards in England and Wales which do not include religious instruction in their curriculum, it may be safely stated that they have omitted it from their programme of teaching on their own responsibility and as a somewhat autocratic and arbitrary act, without consuhing the wishes of the parents on that specific question. * Parliamentary Returns, 1879, 1884 and 1886. 130 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Result of Returns Submitted to the Royal Com- mission as to Schools in which Religious Instruction was and was not given. The following is a summary of the returns from managers of voluntary schools and from School Boards in ten selected counties made in reply to official inquiries respecting religious instruction : — Voluntary Schools — I. — In 102 schools no religious instruction was given. With reference to this fact it must be borne in mind that voluntary schools include not only schools belonging to the Church of England, Wesleyan Methodists, and Roman Catholics, and in connection with the British and Foreign School Society, but also schools of Secularists. It is to be noted that the schools in which no religious in- struction was given were principally British schools. 2. — In 1,261 schools religious instruction is en- croached upon before the Government inspection, in most cases, however, but slightly. 3. — In 3,618 schools the religious instruction is given by the teachers ; in 2,079 ^^ which, such instruction is given by the clergy and others as well as the teachers. 4. — In 286 schools the registers of attendance are marked before, and in 2,925 after religious instruction and observances. 5. — In 443 schools the registers are marked both before and after religious instruction and observ- ances. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. i^i Board Schools — I. — 33 Boards give no religious instruction in their schools. 2. — In the schools of 103 Boards, religious instruction is encroached upon before the Govern- ment inspection, but in most cases but slightly. 3. — In the schools of 358 Boards the teachers give the religious instruction; and in the schools of 43 of these Boards some other persons undertake to do so. 4. — In the schools of 1 1 Boards the registers are marked before, and in the schools of 381 Boards after, religious instruction or observances. 5. — In the schools of 37 Boards the registers are marked both before and after the religious instruc- tion or observances. The Provisions for Religious Instruction in Church of England Schools are superior to those made for Religious Instruction in all other Voluntary Schools. It is much easier to obtain an accurate idea as to the nature and value of the religious instruction given in Church of England schools, than it is to form any correct idea on the same subject with reference to other volun- tary schools. To begin with, there is a legal obligation resting upon the managers and teachers of Church schools, if not of other voluntary schools, not only to give to the children daily religious instruction but to give religious instruction of a definite character in accordance with the teaching and principles of the Church of England* 132 JHE EDUCATION BRIEF. Then further, since under the Education Act the Department instructed the school inspectors not to examine the children of the schools committed to their care in religious subjects, there has sprung up throughout the whole of England a great comprehensive system of diocesan inspection. There are specially qualified diocesan inspectors, selected and appointed by the bishops of the different dioceses, whose duty it is to go round the schools of each diocese and to hold examinations of the children therein in order to ascertain their knowledge on religious subjects and to report the ascertained results, in the case of each school, to the bishop of the diocese. By this means the schools belonging to the Church of England are under the complete supervision of authorised persons who are appointed for the purpose of seeing to the fulness and accuracy of the religious instruction given to the children. But in the case of other voluntary schools, except it may be Roman Catholic schools, there is no authorised supervision of religious instruction of such a nature as that which is in almost every case pro- vided for the schools of the Church of England. It is impossible to get at the exact facts as to the nature and value of the religious instruction given in Wesleyan, British, and other denominational schools. While the managers of Church schools have abundant opportunities of finding out, with reference to their own particular schools, whether religious instruction is being given fully, accurately and effectively to the children, they have, and Churchmen generally have, the diocesan reports, based upon ascertained facts, on which to found their opinion upon this important subject. The whole evidence THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 33 supplied by these reports shows that not only are children in Church of England schools taught the text of the Church catechism and other formularies of the Church, but they are thoroughly grounded in their meaning. Further, there is a yearly systematic study of the Holy Scriptures in the form of an annually sketched out syllabus, according to which the scriptural studies of each school are conducted. This syllabus forms the basis on which the diocesan inspector's annual examination of the school is carried out. And not only are children in Church schools thus taught, but the practical and moral duties of life are explained, insisted upon, and shown to rest upon the only safe basis on which to found them, and that is, God's revealed Word. Testimony of the Dissentient Minority of the Royal Commissioners to the remarkable In- crease in the Number of Church of England Schools since 1870, the Systematic and Effi- cient Teaching given therein, and the great Services which the Schools have rendered to the Church. The dissentient minority of the Royal Commissioners, composed of the Hon. E. Lyulph Stanley, Dr. R. W. Dale, Thomas Edmund Heller, Esq., the late Henry Richard, Esq., and George Shipton, Esq., in the 6th chapter of their separate dissentient report, say : — " On the review of the whole evidence submitted to us we have come to the conclusion that those who believe the inculcation of religious truth in some definite doctrinal form, should constitute a portion of the daily teaching of every child 134 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. attending school, have no occasion to regard the results of the legislation of 1870 with dissatisfaction. To the majority of those who hold this position the day school is virtually a part of the equipment of the Church, and its primary purpose is to instruct the children in religious truth, and to train them in the discharge of religious duty. They believe that neither the instruction nor the training can be effectual unless it rests upon definite religious doctrine, and is made part of the ordinary work of the school. Whatever apprehension they may have felt when the Act of 1870 was passed, experience has proved that their fears were illusory. The schools of the Church of England and of the Roman Catholic Church are rendering to those great ecclesiastical organisations a larger service than they ever rendered before." In proof of this they further say : *^ I. Since 1870 the number of children receiving defi- nite religious instruction and training has numerously increased. In 1870 the Church of England had 6,382 schools, with accommodation for 1,365,080 children. In 1886 it had 11,864 schools, with accommodation for 2,548,673 children. In 1870 the average attendance was 844,334 children. In 1886 it had risen to 1,634,354 children. In 1870 the Roman Catholic Church had 350 schools, with accommodation for 101,556 children. In 1886 it had 892 schools, with accommodation for 310,233 children. In 1870 the average attendance was (y^^odd children. In 1886 it had risen to 180,701 children. We are unable to make a similar comparison for the schools of the Wesleyan Methodists. In the returns of 1870 they were not distinguished from British schools, which claimed to be undenominational. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 35 " 2. The time which is appropriated to religions instruc- tion and observances in schools connected with the Church of England has not diminished. "3. In Church of England schools and in Roman Catholic schools the introduction of the system of diocesan inspection appears to have made the religious instruction more systematic and more thorough, " 4. The evidence submitted to us shows that very feiv children are withdrawn from religious instruction under Clause 7 [being the conscience clause] of the Act of 1870. " Those who believe in the great value of definite religious instruction in day schools may therefore con- gratulate themselves that, as compared with 1870, the number of children in denominational schools has greatly increased, and that the denominational instruction has been more effective." Religious Instruction in Board Schools is, at the best. Arbitrary and Uncertain. After all that has been explained as to religious teach- ing in Board schools, it is perhaps needless to point out that, at the best, their provisions for religious instruc- tion are of a very uncertain and changing character, dependent as they are upon the arbitrary decision not only of each School Board, but of the same School Board, varying from time to time, as it may do, its decision on this important subject. Whether there shall be any religious instruction given in a Board school must depend upon the decision of the Board itself; and if there is to be religious instruction according to its decision, then such religious instruction can only be given within the limits of the Cowper-Temple clause. 136 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Even if a School Board for the time being avails itself of the fullest liberty, within the limits of the Education Act, to give the largest amount of religious instruction and of the most definite character, all its regulations upon this important point may be com- pletely overruled by a succeeding School Board, which may be elected under given circumstances by the rate- payers for purely political purposes, to serve ends entirely apart from the furtherance of religious instruction or of elementary education itself. In the report of the Royal Commissioners it is stated * that '* the Parliamentary returns show that in not a few Board schools which are returned as giving religious instruction, or as having religious observances, the religious teaching is confined to reading the Bible for a few minutes, at the opening of the school, without note or comment, to reciting the Lord's Prayer, or to other very meagre provisions for the religious influence over, or training of, the children." Conclusion of the Royal Commissioners on the whole of the Evidence as to Religious In- struction in Board Schools. The conclusion of the Royal Commissioners, based on the whole of the evidence brought before them as to religious instruction in Board schools, is to the following effect : *' On the whole we are of opinion that gready as the estimate of the value of the religious instruction given in Board schools varies with the standpoint from which it is regarded by various witnesses, there is good ground * Final Report of Royal Commission, 1888, p. 117. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 37 for concluding that where care is bestowed on its organi- sation and sufficient time is allowed for imparting it, it is of a nature to affect the conscience and influence the conduct of the children of whose daily training it forms a part. In many of the Board Schools the teachers accompany systematic Bible reading with appropriate comments and explanations ; in others the scriptural instruction is restricted by limitations [that is, by the School Boards themselves] not imposed by the Act itself, such as that the Bible be read without note or comment, which we think must greatly lessen its value. We must add that, though we highly value the influence of Sunday schools, it is admitted that many scholars in elementary schools do not either attend them or any place of worship, and that their parents are often either too ignorant or too indifferent to give their children any religious instruction. Such children, therefore, are entirely dependent upon instruction in the day schools for any knowledge of the Scriptural truths which ought to be the common heritage of all the people in a Christian country." * The Commissioners hope that Board Schools will rise to a Higher Standard of Religious Teach- ing. The Commissioners further say : " We hope that the religious and moral training in all Board schools may be raised to the high standard which has already been attained in many of them, and that it will be made clear that the State, while scrupulously maintaining its provisions for safeguarding the rights of conscience, * Final Report of Royal Commission, 1888, p. 118. 138 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. does not wish to discourage any of the managers, teachers, and members of School Boards connected with any of the pubhc elementary schools of the country, who are endeavouring to bring up the children in love and obedience to God." * Precautions taken by the Education Department to guard against the Erroneous Impression that the State discourages Religious Teaching in Elementary Schools. In a circular issued to Her Majesty's inspectors of schools on the i6th of January 1878 the Education Department state as follows : *' It should never be for- gotten that a child withdrawn from the whole or part of the religious teaching or observances of a school should in no way be subjected to disparaging treatment on account of his parent having thought fit to avail himself of his statutory right in this matter. On the other hand, in your communications respecting the arrangements of the time-tables, you will remember that you have no right to interfere in any way with the liberty allowed by statute to managers of providing for religious teaching and observances at the beginning and end of the two daily school meetings. In your allusions to this subject and to the conscience clause, you will be most careful not to lead managers or teachers to suppose that the complete provision which has now been made by the Legislature for protecting the rights of conscience, as an essential part of a system of compulsory attendance, and the limitation of the necessary examination by Her * Final Report of Royal Com miss ion, 1888, p. 118. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 39 Majesty's inspectors to secular subjects, imply that the State is indifferent to the moral character of the schools or in any way unfriendly to religious teaching." Religious Teaching in Voluntary Schools not paid for by G-overnment Grant, while Reli- gious Teaching in Board Schpols is paid for by School Board Rate. Undoubtedly the important vantage ground which volun- tary schools occupy above Board schools is the greater security which they can give to parents that religious instruction shall be a part of the elementary education of their children. But the highest and greatest guarantees, except in the case of the Roman Catholic body, that can be afforded to parents for the communication of religious instruction to their children, are those afforded in Church of England schools. In them religious instruction of a definite character, according to the school trust deed, and according to the time-table conscience clause, forms an essential part of the daily education. But this provision for religious teaching in Church of England schools, as in the case indeed of all voluntary schools, is entirely independent of the Govern- ment grant and constitutes no part of the conditions on which such grant is given. There are, indeed, persons who try to represent that because religious instruction is given in voluntary schools, receiving annual grants, the communication of religious instruction in such schools is paid for by such grants. It is vain to argue with such persons. I40 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Testimony of Royal Commissioners as to Religious Teaching in Voluntary Schools not being paid for by Government Grant. In reply to such groundless assertions, it is sufficient to state the deliberate conclusion of the Royal Commis- sioners upon this subject after going into the whole question. Their words are : " The chief reg-ulations as to religious teaching contained in the Education Acts are to be found in the provisions which allow a parent to withdraw his child from instruction in religious subjects of which he disapproves, in volun- tary and Board schools alike, and, in what is known as the Cowper-Temple clause, which prohibits the use of distinctive religious formularies in a rate- supported school. It does not appear by what other means, short of prohibiting all religious instruction in public elementary schools, Parliament could have carried out its undoubted intention to dissociate the State from all connection with distinctive religious teaching. We cannot, therefore, concur in the view that the State may be constructively regarded as endowing religious educa- tion when under these conditions it pays annual grants for secular instruction, in aid of voluntary local efforts, to schools in which religious instruction forms part of the programme. The contention of those who regard the State and the Act of 1870 as constructively endowing religious education would exclude from the schools of England the religion of nature; but the 14th section of the Act, which forbids any denominational catechism or formulary to be taught in Board schools, merely provides for a perfect neutrality among Christian denominations. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 14I It does not exclude from public elementary schools in- struction in the religion of nature, that is, the existence of God and of natural morality which, apart from belief in the existence of God, cannot be intelligibly taught."* On the other hand whatever be the amount and character of religious instruction given in Board schools it is given by the decision of the School Board, repre- senting the ratepayers, who have the power of withhold- ing and forbidding it ; and it being so given it must be regarded as given by the ratepayers and at the expense of the rates. * Final Report of Royal Commission, 1888, p. 119. CHAPTER X. THE ABSOLUTE NECESSITY OF RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION ; BY WHOM AND HOW TO BE GIVEN. It is necessary to the Individual. It is necessary to the individual for the formation and enlightenment of a good conscience to enable him to add to that natural sense of right and wrong, which is. a part of his very being, that intuitive and clear perception of duty which is derived from the educating of the mind and conscience, under the enlightening influence of God's revealed Word. Religious instruction is absolutely necessary in the case of every child, in order that he may have within himself such a just sense of responsibility and individual duty as will enable him without doubt or misgiving to pursue that daily unwavering course of conduct, which will help him to preserve as far as possible a good conscience towards God and man. Re- ligious instruction is necessary that a child may thereby acquire right views of the nature of this life, its aim and destiny, and his relations and duties to God as his Creator and Father^ as well as to his fellow men. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 43 Instruction in Religious Truth is necessary to the Preservation of the Obligations and the Strengthening of the Safeguards of Society. Society is not based upon, nor held together by, the sanctions or penalties of mere statute law. Its true and safe foundation is the possession of the just sense of right and wrong on the part of its individual members, which, exercised by them with reference to their conduct towards each other, gives rise to ideas of mutual obliga- tion. That mutual obligation is nowhere explained and set forth more perfectly than in God's revealed Word contained in the Bible, and especially in Christ's sermon on the mount. In no story is it more graphically illus- trated than in that of the parable of the Good Samaritan narrated by our Saviour ; and never has it been more plainly or simply expressed, or set forth in fewer words, than in the golden rule laid down by our Lord for our observance, " All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." * Instruction in Religious Truth is necessary to the Formation of a Basis of Mutual Obligation be- tween Employers and Employed. The relations between the employer and the employed, which have no other foundation than the mere restraint and constraint of State law, self-interest, and what is merely expedient or politic for the moment, will not be of a very stable and permanent character, and certainly will not bear the strain of great social changes or political revolutions. The relations which are based * St. Matthew vii. 12. 144 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. upon the unchangeable principles of Divine truth as set forth in Holy Scripture, and which are so perfectly sum- marised in the Church Catechism, explaining our duty to God and to our fellow men, will alone bear the shock and strain of conflicting interests in which men are tempted to seek only their own personal advantage and gain, and to leave altogether out of sight, and out of account as well, what is due to their fellow men. Religious Instruction has always been an Essential Part of English Education. There never has been a period in the history of Christian England in which instruction in religious truth has not been regarded as an essential part of education. Not only has religious instruction been always looked upon as an essential part of education, but trained, religious habits, and the training and building up of Christian character, have ever been considered as neces- sary to its completion. England, mercifully, has never had any experience of a national system of education from which instruction in religious subjects has been excluded^ nor of the deplorable consequences that would follow in the train of such a calamitous national educa- tional policy. The terrible results of such an educational system are too plainly to be seen in the social and national condition of the French people with respect to religious teaching, and they are certainly not such as to give English people any encouragement in imitating such an example. Mr. H. H. S. Cunynghame, one of Her Majesty's Assistant Charity Commissioners, stated in evidence before the Royal Commission on Education that in the THE EDUCATION BRIEF. I45 primary municipal schools of Paris " not only is no word of religion taught, but the very name of God is in strict- ness forbidden to be uttered ; " with the result, as he was assured by the school-teachers, that by far the greater number of the poor children in Paris receive no religious instruction whatsoever, either at school or at home. The master of one of the schools, himself a professed materiaHst, told him that "in ten years he believed that few of the boys in the school would even know the name of Christ otherwise than as a matter of history, and that he himself even viewed with apprehension the consequences of such a change, for, although a ma- terialist, he felt by no means certain that materialism would be capable of supplying the wants of a nation." The Result of Won-education in Religious Truth, though not seen immediately, is sure ultimately to manifest itself to an Alarming Extent. To those who think that there is no danger to the individual, society, the whole population, and the nation by the withdrawal of all religious instruction from the daily education given in elementary schools, there may be addressed the words of warning : " Wait awhile ; you have no knowledge of the results of such an ex- periment in England as yet, forasmuch as in this country instruction in religious truth, and that truth as taught by the Church, has always been an essential part of daily education. England's past, as the result of such religious education, is known ; its history no Englishman need be ashamed of; but England's future, without religious instruction, is not known. May such a future never be known ! '' K 146 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. But should it happen that instruction in religious truth should ever be prohibited in elementary schools, such a direful policy will undoubtedly all too soon develop its disastrous results. These results will be seen in the indi- vidual by the lowering of his standard of action, conduct and character, and the efFacement of all sense of respon- sibility to God, the State, and to his fellow men ; and for this sense of responsibility he will substitute the mere considerations of self-interest and expediency in his personal life, and in the discharge of his obligations to others. The results to society will be seen by an alarm- ing loosening of* the moral and religious bonds which now hold it together, as guarantees of individual and social liberty and safety. The results to the State will be to endanger its order, peace, and good government, if not to imperil its safety and its very existence. Some Representative Opponents of Religious Instruction in Elementary Schools Amongst those who gave evidence before the Royal Commission as advocates of the removal from day elementary schools of all religious teaching and observ- ances whatsoever, there were certain assumed official representatives of the different religious bodies. But that they received a mandate from those bodies to give their evidence, or that the evidence they gave was such as to any great extent would be endorsed by the bodies whom they purported to represent, there was no evidence to show. The Rev. C. Williams, chairman of the Baptist Union, declared himself to be in favour of the establishment of purely secular schools, and stated that he thought they were perfectly consistent with the religious education of THR EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 47 the children of the country. Mr. Snape, principal of the ministerial training college of the United Methodist Free Churches, desired that in all State-aided schools there should be secular instruction only. The Rev. Dr. Bruce, a Congregational minister and chairman of the School Management Committee of the Huddersfield School Board, said : ^' Our principle is this : that if you have a State system of education, according to Non- conformist views, it must in the main be either secular or unsectarian." The Rev. James Atkinson, president of the Free Churches of the Primitive Methodist Society, would have no distinctive religious teaching given as a part of daily instruction in elementary schools. The utmost that he could approve of was the mere reading of a portion of Holy Scripture. The Rev. Dr. Crosskey, Nonconformist minister and chairman of the School Management Committee of the Birmingham School Board, stated, strange to say, that for the sake of religion itself, religion should not be taught in public elementary schools. But all these gentlemen who gave evidence in sub- stance as stated, though they would have recourse to the extreme measure of prohibiting religious instruction in pubHc elementary schools, yet professed to be anxious to secure for the children religious instruction in some other way, on the supposition that such instruction could be so provided. Proof that the Witnesses named did not in their Evidence represent the Wishes of the People of England on the subject of Religious Instruction. A much larger body of witnesses, consisting, among others, of Her Majesty's inspectors, clergy, managers 148 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. and teachers, speaking on behalf of both Board and voluntary schools, deposed before the Royal Commission to the great value which parents generally attached to religious instruction being given to their children in the day school. Similar evidence was supplied by answers to questions set forth in circulars issued by the Commis- sioners, or the Education Department, to the managers of voluntary and Board schools in certain counties throughout the country. Out of 3,759 replies from voluntary managers, 3,438 stated that parents desired for their children religious instruction and training. Of 385 Boards, 299 made the same statement; and out of 3,496 head teachers, 2,959 stated that parents desire for their children religious instruction and training. To the question, " Do parents desire moral training?" 3,486 managers of voluntary schools, 303 School Boards, and 3,084 head teachers answer " Yes." Such evidence as has been indicated may well be put as a sufficient refutation and counteractant of the evidence given by the advocates of purely secular education in elementary schools, namely, the Nonconformist witnesses whose names, with all due respect, are given in the preceding section. If the overwhelming Majority of the People of the Country be in favour of Religious Instruction, then how comes it to pass that in Some In- stances, School Boards are elected who do not include Religious Instruction in their Educa- tional Programme ? The answer to this is that the election of persons as THE EDUCATION BRIFF. 1 49 members of a School Board is often based upon motives and considerations entirely apart from any reference to the furtherance of elementary education, and even apart from the question whether candidates, if elected, would or would not be advocates for imparting, in the schools over which they would have control, religious instruction in any form whatsoever. The battle of the election of School Boards is frequently fought on the strict lines of poHtical parties^ the chief agencies which engage in the contest being political organisations. This being so, vast numbers of Churchmen and Nonconformists unfortunately stand aloof from elec- tions of School Boards altogether, well knowing that the real question at issue in the conflict is not. Who will be returned as members most competent to fill the position, take the greatest interest in the furtherance of educa- tion, and give due and weighty consideration to the question of the religious instruction and the moral train- ing of the children ? — but. Whether the power of this or that political party shall be increased or diminished by the election ? Objectors to Religious Instruction in Elementary Schools allege that it may be efQ.ciently obtained from Other Sources. Of the witnesses who gave evidence before the Royal Commission in favour of the exclusion of religious in- struction from the programme of education in elementary schools, there were none who did not admit the immense importance of religious instruction itself. They differed from other witnesses only as to whether it should consti- tute a part of the education either in voluntary or Board 150 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. schools. When pressed by questions as to where, and from whom, children were to obtain adequate religious instruction, if not in the course of their daily education in elementary schools, their answers were of a very unsatisfactory character ; and the impression given to any impartial reader of their evidence is, that the witnesses were far more anxious to oust religious teaching altogether from elementary school education, than to provide a sufficient substitute for it. Indeed, it is apparent, from the whole spirit and drift of their evidence, that they constantly had in view the fact that, if religious instruction were banished from all schools in receipt of a Government grant, the managers of Church schools would have to capitulate to School Boards, and that in such a case they and their fellow religionists would gain the greatest possible sectarian victory over the Church. It is manifest that the end which they have in view, in advancing the abolition of religious instruction in all elementary schools, is to inflict upon the Church such a disastrous defeat as they could not possibly hope to do by any other means. Their suggestions as to alternative means by which religious instruction could be imparted to children other than in day schools, according to the present arrange- ments, need only be considered for their utter inade- quacy to be discovered. Could the Beligious Instruction of Children be safely left to Parents ? As well might the question be asked why do not parents instruct their children at home in the various subjects of secular education instead of sending them to school? Generally the parents of children who attend elementary THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 151 schools are about as qualified to do the one thing as the other. The instruction of children in religious truth requires as much care on the part of the teacher as does instruction in any other educational subject. For the effectual imparting of religious knowledge to children there are certain things required, in the circumstances under which the instruction is given, and in the qualifica- tions of the teacher to communicate such instruction. Children should receive religious instruction daily, regularly, methodically, clearly, and efficiently in school, in the same way that they are instructed in other subjects. Few of the homes of children attending elementary schools are such as to offer favourable surroundings for sys- tematic instruction in religious truth. The character, circumstances, and surroundings of the parents of vast numbers of children who attend elementary schools are not such as to be contributive to religious education. Many of the parents have no knowledge whatsoever even of the most common elementary subjects; and as to their ability to instruct their children in the very first and simplest principles of religious truth, it may be safely asserted of many of them, that they have no knowledge of religious truth themselves. They may not be able even to read j they may never go to a place of worship ; they may never offer a prayer ; and their character and lives may be utterly irreligious and immoral. Religious Instruction can be given Effectively only by Trained Teachers. The facts above stated are unfortunately in thou- sands of cases accurately descriptive of parents whose children happily are in attendance at elementary schools, and who, in these schools, receive not only a knowledge 152 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. in secular subjects, but also a knowledge of religious truth which they never could obtain at home, and which it would be impossible to imagine that their parents could communicate to them. Those who, aiming at ulterior ends, advocate the abolition of instruction in religious subjects from all elementary schools, can scarcely be in earnest when they say that the children of parents, such as have been des- cribed, are to look at home for the religious instruction which they would fain deny to them as a part of their daily education? Even in a case where the qualifica- tions of a parent may be regarded as sufficient to enable him to communicate religious instruction to his children at home, it must be remembered that the capacity for teaching is a gift which is partly natural and partly acquired by study, careful training, and experience. The teacher must not only himself understand the truth he is to teach, but he must know in what attractive, intelligent, and simple form to present it to the children depending on him for instruction. Quick- ness of perception, activity of mind, readiness of utter- ance, command of appropriate words, and self possession during the process of instruction are all necessary on the part of the teacher, to insure to the children taught a clear knowledge of religious truth or of any other subject. How many parents possess anything like these qualifica- tions ? Indeed, it may be asked how far even the general run of persons, of more than ordinary intelligence and education, possess such necessary qualifications? If instruction in religious subjects can be given to children anywhere, anyhow, and by any person, why should not instruction in secular subjects be given in the same way ? THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 53 Could not Religious Instruction be given by the various Religious Bodies ? Some of the witnesses before the Royal Commission seemed to speak with great confidence of the willingness and ability of the various religious bodies to take charge of the religious instruction of the children of the country, in the event of such instruction being excluded from education in elementary schools. But these witnesses undoubtedly undertook to promise more in the names of religious bodies than they were authorised to do — in fact they merely expressed their own opinions. As far as their evidence is concerned, they had no mandate and no authority whatsoever to commit the religious bodies of the country, which they purported to represent, to such vast responsibilities, and to the per- formance of such overwhelming duties as would be involved in undertaking the religious instruction of the children throughout the country, who now receive such instruction in voluntary schools. Who are the religious bodies that are competent for such a work ? Where, how and by whom do they now carry it out ? How could they secure the assemblage of the chil- dren ? By what authority could they bring them together ? In what systematic manner could they instruct them ? By what appointed and competent teachers ? No doubt such children as of their own free choice attend the Sunday- schools of the Church and of the various religious bodies, or whose parents send them to such Sunday-schools, would receive therein some proportionate amount of that religious instruction which they otherwise would have obtained in elementary schools. But as to the quantity. 154 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. character, and efficiency of such religious instruction, it is no reflection upon many comparatively uneducated and untrained Sunday-school teachers to say, that they are not competent to communicate religious knowledge in that systematic and efficient manner which educated and trained elementary school teachers are enabled to do. It will scarcely be denied that desultory religious teach- ing, for two or three hours on a Sunday, cannot be regarded as a sufficient substitute for daily systematic instruction in religious subjects, given as a part of the regular education in elementary schools on every day in the week. Besides, what is to become of the vast numbers of children throughout the country who either will not attend a Sunday-school, or whose parents take no interest in sending them there, and unfortunately think nothing and care nothing about religion in any shape or form whatsoever ? Could not Religious Instruction be given to School- children on Sunday Afternoons in Church instead of in Elementary Schools ? Yes ; where practicable, religious instruction in the shape of catechising ought to be given in every parish church on Sunday afternoons, in accordance with the directions of the Rubric in the Book of Common Prayer. There are many churches, however, in which parochial or congregational circumstances would prevent its thus being given. The whole surrounding circumstances of the Church of England have changed since the Rubric referred to was drawn up ; changed, not only in the vast increase of the population, but in the number and variety of services held, and the heavy demand in con- THE EDUCATION BRIEF. I55 sequence made upon the mental powers and physical strength and energy of the clergy. Notwithstanding, it is still most important that in all possible cases, children should be catechised in Church at the Sunday afternoon service. In a very large number of churches most instructive and effective catechising services are held; but such catechising, for some of the reasons previously stated, could not serve as a substitute for religious instruction in elementary day-schools. Catechising on Sunday after- noons is a good auxiliary to the religious instruction received in day-schools, and a good method of testing the accuracy of the knowledge acquired by the children in their day-school education, but it could never ade- quately serve as a substitute for such daily instruction. The Best Method of Instruction is Catechetical. Given instruction in religious subjects as an essential part of daily elementary education, the question is, in what form can it be most simply and effectually given? There can be only one answer to this question, and that is, that such religious instruction can be best given in the catechetical form. There is no other method of oral instruction by which the teacher can so simply and easily communicate his ideas on the truths that he has to teach to the children under his care ; nor is there any other method that will enable him so effectually to ascertain whether the truths that he teaches are really being understood by those who are taught. Then, given the truth to be taught, and the catechetical method as the medium by which it is to be communicated to the children, it is evident that it would not do to leave 156 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. the formulating of question and answer on the facts, doc- trines, and practical duties of religion exclusively, to the spontaneous utterances of the teacher. There must be used the authorised Catechism of the Church, the ques- tions and answers of which the children must read, and learn, as the phrase is, ''by heart," and make them, as it were, a part and parcel of their memory. Having done this they will be the better able to answer the teacher's oral questions. Religious Bodies outside the Church, in Recent Years, have had Recourse to Formiilaries and Catechisms. In past years it has been the habit of representa- tives of religious bodies outside the Church of England to deprecate the use of religious formularies in the shape of creeds, and mediums of instruction in the form of catechisms ; but latterly a great change has taken place in the opinions of some of them on this important subject. Now they have recourse to manuals and formulated printed statements of their beliefs ; and, in the case of the Wesleyan body, it was stated in evidence before the Royal Commission on Education, that catechisms, drawn up by the Wesleyan Conference, are actually in use in Wesleyan elementary schools.* Given then the catechetical method of instruction, there does not exist a more simple, comprehensive and complete form of instruction in the articles of religious belief, and in the duties which devolve upon each in- dividual to God and toward his neighbour, than that which is embodied in the Church catechism. There * First Repoit of Royal Commission, 1886, 7,213. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. I57 never has been a religious formulary, in the shape of a medium of religious instruction as a part of education, which has been so much misrepresented and misquoted as the Church catechism, and often by the very persons who are the least acquainted with it, if, indeed, they have ever studied it or even read it at all. Misrepresentation of the Church Catechism. One singular misrepresentation of the words of the Church catechism has frequently been met with in the writings and speeches of persons who ought to know better. It is that of representing the Church in her teaching as subservient to State purposes in grounding the children, committed to her care, in the idea that they should be content to abide in that humble position in life in which they may have been born, and that they should remain in the state of servitude in which they may have been brought up. And with the object of showing that this is the teaching of the Church they misquote the words of the catechism in reply to the question, ** What is thy duty towards thy neighbour ? " The words of the answer accurately quoted are: "To learn and labour truly to get mine own living, and to do my duty in that state of life unto which it shall please God to call me." But such persons misquote the words by altering them thus — *^ To learn and labour truly to get mine own living, and to do my duty in that state of life unto which it has pleased God to call me." Thus by substituting the words ^* has pleased " for ^' shall please " the Church has frequently been mis- represented and accused of trying to repress the law- ful ambition of each individual not only to better 158 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. his condition in life if possible, but to make use of those mental and other endowments which God may have given to him, to enable him to rise from possibly the lowest and most obscure position to that of the greatest eminence and usefulness. Many an expression of strong disapprobation of, and protest against, the Church has been elicited, by a popular agitator, from assemblages of the working-classes, by this misquotation of the words of the catechism, and by his declamations against a Church that would, as he alleges, place a barrier in the way of the possible successful rise of the poorest person in the land to the highest attainable position. But in fact, the words of the catechism provide for God's providence calling a person from one position to another, without any limit. It will be seen that there is all the difference possible between the meaning of the phrase *^ that state of life unto which it has pleased God to call me " and the mean- ing of the phrase *' that state of life unto which it shall please God to call me." Influence exerted upon Society by the Truths set forth in the Baptismal Covenant as embodied in the Church Catechism. It is difficult to estimate the influence which the Church's teaching of the truths involved in, and ex- pressed by, the Baptismal Covenant has exercised upon the English people and nation. From the earliest days of the conversion of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms up to the present time the truth has been inculcated by the Church, that every person who has received Holy Baptism and has been received into the fellowship of the Church has thereby become " a member of Christ, THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 59 the child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven." This truth has been taught in the same words to all persons who have thus been baptised and received into the communion of the Church, irrespective of the position in life in which the Church found them. The meanest serf, or even the most abject slave, has ever been regarded and treated by the Church, so far as his relation to God and his membership in her communion are concerned, as on the same level, the same footing, and the same equal terms, not only as his master, but as the king upon his throne. Thus the admission of all classes of society into the communion of the Church upon exactly the same basis led all men gradually to see and recognise the fact that, however much they differed in other respects, there was one sense at least in which they were on equal terms before God and His Church, and in v^hich they could claim no superiority over each other. Within the fold of the Church there is *• neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision^ Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free " ;"^ but all are one in Christ. The basis furnished by the truths embodied in Holy Baptism and admission into the Church, afforded a foundation of an altogether new state of society compared with that which all classes occupied, previously to their reception of the Gospel. The Fusion of different Classes of Society effected by the Church's Religious Teaching. The Church bridged over the chasm that lay between the slave, the serf, and subservient lower classes on the •* Colossians iii. ii. l6o THE EDUCATION BRIEF. one hand, and the great landowners, peers, and princes on the other. And by the education which the Church im- parted to the lowest in the land, in whatever position of life he was found, she made it possible for him to rise from his low condition, pass up into the ranks of those who, by the mere accident of birth, were so far above him, and even fill an office and exercise an influence which gave him the position of counsellor, if not even of dictator, to those classes of society to which, but for the instrumentality of the Church, he could never have had access. Thus by preaching the doctrine of the religious equality of all persons within her fold, irrespective of their original condition in life, and by imparting education to all without partiality, the Church opened the door of all positions in Church and State to those who by moral fitness, mental endowments, and educational acquirements, could adequately fill them and efficiently discharge their duties. Serfs and slaves, liberated by their masters and educated by the Church, have in their time occupied her highest places; and history affords illustrations of numerous instances of persons born in humble positions in life attain- ing to the highest, by the Church preparing the way of their progress and then giving them her helping hand to reach the objects of their laudable ambition. To the teaching of the Church truths embodied in the baptismal covenant is due not only the emancipation of the serf and the slave, but that religious and social foundation which formed the original basis of the whole of what is called middle-class society. From the beginning, therefore, the Church has been identified not with any social class but with the whole of THE EDUCATION BRIEF. l6l the people and, as all historical evidence proves, it was owing, in no small degree, to the influence exercised by the Church that the English people, from a state of almost interminable divisions, became one nation, gradually acquired their unparalleled constitutional freedom, pro- gressed and developed from littleness to greatness in a manner that finds no counterpart in the history of any other nation, and that England has grown and expanded from Great to Greater Britain. Not only religious instruc- tion, but religious instruction as given by the Church of England, has been in all England's past the great for- mative, consolidating, and stimulating element of enter- prise in the English character, and has undoubtedly contributed more than anything else to the greatness, power, and expansion of the British Empire. The Apostles' Creed supplies the simplest possible Form of Belief. The essential doctrines and facts of the Christian religion which are of necessary belief ought to be put in some simple form in which they can be read and learnt. The Apostles' Creed supplies this form of compre- hensively embodied facts and doctrines expressed in the simplest possible words. This scriptural Creed is the most ancient form of Christian belief. It has been taught by all branches of the Christian Church from the earliest period. It has at the same time constituted the sole sources of the theological knowledge of millions of people, afforded an elementary source from which the most learned doctors of the Church have elucidated the most elaborate theological systems, and has provided a foundation on which they have built them up. 1 62 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Considering all this it is difficult to understand how, except on the grounds of ignorance, narrow-mindedness, and an inveterate prejudice amounting to bigotry, any person who believes in Christianity at all can object to his child being taught the form of Christian faith known as the Apostles' Creed. And yet there are persons who, though they think that instruction in religion is essential as a part of education, still would prefer leaving such religious instruction to be given in some desultory, indefinite form, by the verbal utterances of perhaps a most unqualified teacher, to having their children taught a form of religious belief, the knowledge of which once acquired is fixed in the mind and becomes, as it were, a part and parcel of the individual quite independent of the intervention of any teacher whatsoever. The Teaching and Influence of the Lord's Prayer. The Fatherhood of God, and the oneness of the human race, are simply and forcibly taught in this epitomised and comprehensive representation of human wants, expressed in language that every child can use and understand. The truths embodied in and set forth by this prayer are ; that we are all God's offspring ; that in Him we live and move and have our being ; and that He is the one God and Father of us all. Difter as men may as to race, and clime, and tongue, and condition of life, they after all form one great brotherhood before their Father, God. And these truths being so they ought to sympathise with and help each other, as God their Father sympathises with and helps each individual. Who can estimate the influence exercised upon English- THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 163 men,upon society, and upon the world at large through the instrumentality of such a prayer taught to children in all conditions of life, and especially in all elementary Church schools ? Who can measure the sympathy between the different classes of society, which has been created and elicited on behalf of the afflicted and suffering sons and daughters of the human race, by the daily use o^ this sim- ple prayer ? Benevolent and philanthropic agencies and organisations, having for their object the amelioration of the condition of men of all nationalities, owe their origin to this powerfully inspiring source of mutual Christian sympathy and help. The Lord's Prayer has been the unfailing fount of human sympathy, of human aid, and of provision for the wants of the needy, to an extent that it is utterly impossible to estimate. The Influence of the Ten Commandments on English Law. In that part of the Catechism composed of the Ten Commandments as divinely formulated and expressed, there is a comprehensive summary of all the obligations to be discharged, and duties to be performed, first to God, and secondly to our fellow men. The Lord himself has summed up, in the following words, the duties which the Commandments inculcate : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength; this is the first Commandment. And the second is like, namely this : Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other Command- ment greater than these." * * St. Mark xii. 30, 31. 164 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. The Commandments constitute the basis of all human obligations. The duties which they inculcate, if per- fectly performed, would insure the realisation of the highest state of happiness to the individual, to society, and to the nation at large. The Commandments have suggested and have contributed to the formulation of the laws of all Christian nations. They have been embodied in the provisions of all the laws of England from the founding of the Church in this country to the present time. If the part which they contribute to the body of English law were abstracted from the laws of this country, there would remain only a worthless remnant of legislation behind. One of our greatest authorities on the history of the criminal law of England states : — "The Criminal Law may be described with truth as an expansion of the second table of the Ten Command- ments. The statement in the catechism of the positive duties of man to man corresponds step by step with the prohibitions of a criminal code. Those who honour and obey the Queen will not commit high treason or other poHtical offences. Those who honour and obey in due order and degree those who are put in authority under the Queen, will not attempt to pervert the courts of justice, nor will they disobey lawful commands or violate the provisions of Acts of Parliament, or be guilty of corrupt practices with regard to public officers, or in the discharge of the duties confided to them by law. *' Those who hurt nobody by word will not commit libel or threaten injury to person, property, or reputation, nor will they lie in courts of justice or elsewhere, but will keep their tongues from evil speaking, lying, and slander- ing. Those who hurt nobody by deed v/ill not commit THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 65 murder or administer poison, wound, or assault others, or burn their houses or maliciously injure their property. " Those who keep their hands from picking and stealing will commit neither thefts nor fraudulent breaches of trust nor forgery, nor will they pass bad money. Those who keep their bodies in temperance, soberness, and chastity will not fall into a multitude of abominable offences, but avoid the causes which lead to the com- mission of nearly all crimes. Those who learn and labour truly to get their own living win not be disorderly persons, cheats, impostors, rogues, or vagabonds, and will at all events have taken a long step towards domg their duty in the state of life to which it has pleased God to call them. " The criminal law may be thus regarded as a detailed exposition of the different ways in which men may so violate their duty to their neighbours as to incur the indignation of society to an extent measured, not inaccu- rately, by the various punishments awarded to their misdeeds." * The Influence exerted on the Public Life of England by the Church's Inculcation of Duty. The Church's teaching, in the catechism, of our duty to God and our duty to our neighbour, as based upon the Ten Commandments, has exercised an influence upon the individual character of Englishmen, and upon the whole character of the English people as a nation, which is unparalleled, and has given to them a unique idea of personal and public " duty." * Stephen's '* History of the Criminal Law," vol. iii., p. 366. 1 66 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. There is, it is said, no tongue in which the word " duty" occupies so prominent a place as it does in the English language, and that there are no people in whom the sense of duty is so highly and strongly developed as in the people of the English race. The word " duty " is one of the most familiar words in the English tongue. It is heard everywhere. Men regard them- selves as hearing " the call of duty," as *^ walking in the path of duty," as " standing at the post of duty," and as *' determined to do their duty" in the face of all dangers. Foreigners have been impressed with the frequent reference to " duty " in Wellington's letters and des- patches, as it has never been referred to in the letters or despatches of a great soldier belonging to any other nation. The word *' duty " in Nelson's memorable words, " England expects every man to do his duty," signalled to the British fleet as an incentive to victory at the battle of Trafalgar, with all the associations that it recalled, contributed in no small degree to the triumphant issue of that great conflict, and consequently, it may be said, exercised no small influence upon the Imperial destinies of England. Who can say, therefore, how much the supremacy of England at the present day is owing to the idea of " duty " inculcated by the Church catechism, and engraven on the minds of English- men — an idea which has manifested itself in those supreme moments of England's history, in which her future destiny has been decided ? It is no exaggeration to say that the lessons of duty taught in and from the Church catechism have been carried by Englishmen into every ofllice and department of public as well as private life, and especially have THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 67 they been carried into the service of Her Majesty's Army and Navy. To these lessons, taught to Englishmen in their childhood and youth, England undoubtedly owes a large part of her moral prestige as well as her material empire and greatness. This much, however is certain, that if the influence of the Church catechism upon modern England, with all the great achievements result- ing therefrom, could be abstracted from English history it would be but a small and poor England that would remain. CHAPTER XI. THE CONSCIENCE CLAUSE. Is the Conscience Clause honestly and faithfully observed by School Managers and Teachers? The conscience clause, the object of which is to afford a guarantee to parents of children attending any- voluntary public elementary school, that no religious instruction shall be given to such children to which they, the parents, object, has been the subject of much discus- sion as to whether it is honestly and faithfully carried out by the managers and teachers of voluntary schools. The opponents of voluntary schools, and especially of the schools belonging to the Church of England, have tried to make out that the conscience clause, if not directly violated, is in various ways evaded, so as to render it ineffective for the purpose for which it was designed, namely, to afford protection to parents who object to their children either receiving some particular kind of religious instruction, or receiving any religious instruction at all. But the numerous and various wit- nesses, representing clergy, school inspectors, school teachers, heads of educational societies, and others, examined before the Royal Commission on this subject, presented a great body of evidence tending to show that THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 69 not only was the conscience clause not intentionally violated in any voluntary school, but that there was not that prejudice against, and opposition to, religious instruction on the part of parents which was frequently represented as existing throughout the country. In fact the whole tenor and drift of the evidence showed quite the contrary- — that parents, with comparatively few exceptions, are greatly in favour of their children receiv- ing religious instruction. The Rev. James Duncan, Secretary of the National Society, stated that the con- science clause is found to be effective, and that out of 2,000,000 children on the registers of the Church of England schools only 2,200 are withdrawn from the whole of religious instruction in these schools, and only 5,690 from any part of it. Mr. Waller, as representing the Wesleyan Schools, expressed it as his opinion that the conscience clause is effective, and affords an adequate security that the conscientious scruples of the parents are not interfered with. It would be a repetition of facts already adduced to quote further evidence upon this subject. The Royal Commissioners failed to find Evidence of any Violation of the Conscience Clause in Voluntary Schools. It is enough to state that the Royal Commissioners on Education, after hearing a great variety of evidence from numerous witnesses, failed to find proof of any case in voluntary schools in which the conscience clause had been violated, or in which there were any attempts made dishonestly to evade its provisions. As usually happens in such matters cases were referred lyo THE EDUCATION BRIEF. to by witnesses, of alleged violation of the conscience clause. But these witnesses had no knowledge of such cases themselves. They imagined, however, that if the conscience clause were not openly violated, undue pressure had at least been brought to bear on certain scholars to induce them to receive religious teaching in the Church schools which they were attending. But the Commissioners in their Final Report have stated that, in answer to a challenge for their production, no persons were produced before them, to depose to any attempt on the part of managers or teachers of schools or others, to induce parents to forego their right of with- drawing their children from the religious instruction given in any school. The significant absence of all evidence to prove the statements so frequently made that the conscience clause is habitually violated in voluntary schools, and the absence of any witnesses to adduce testimony in proof of such alleged violation, cannot be adequately ac- counted for on any other grounds than that the statements made to the effect that the conscience clause was evaded, were not founded upon facts within the knowledge of the witnesses, and that the persons alleged to have such knowledge could not be produced. The only Instance of the Violation of the Conscience Clause took place in a Board School. It is remarkable that the one and only case in which such violation was proved was that of a Board school in Chelsea. Mr. T. Smyth, of Chelsea, a representative of the working-classes complained that having with- THE EDUCATION BRIEF. I7I drawn his children from a voluntary school in Pimlico on the ground that he did not wish them to receive the religious instruction given in that school, he sent them to a Board school in Chelsea, in which religious instruction was given to his children contrary to his wish. It is worth while here to quote the words of Mr. Smyth in the evidence that he gave. He says of his eldest boy :* " He was put to religious instruction, or religious instruction was offered to be given. I sent and asked that he should be withdrawn from that religious instruction, and I will tell you what happened. There was a demur about doing so and I had a consultation with the school- master about it. I sent my wife also to ask about it, and the result of all the negotiations was that the boy was put up at one end of the room by himself in front of all the school; while they were being given religious in- struction he had to stand there." Question, — That was a Board school I presume ? Answer. — Yes, that was a Board school. That was carried out until the election of Mr. Firth as a member of the Board for Chelsea. I gave Mr. Firth to under- stand that if he was to have my support he must take action to have this thing redressed ; and I believe that the London School Board, after his presence upon it, found a separate room, with teachers, for such boys for the future. Q. — You say that the grievance, whatever it was, was redressed upon your application ? A, — Yes, but I am sorry to say that everybody would not go to the same trouble as I went to. * Third Report of Royal Commission (Mr. T. Smyth's Evidence, $2,645). 172 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Q, — The case you mention is the case of a Board school. Is there any such case which you have ever heard of in a voluntary school? ^.— No. Testimony of the Dissentient Minority of the Royal Commissioners to the Won- Violation of the Conscience Clause in Voluntary Schools. It is gratifying to learn that the Nonconformist dissentients from the Report of the Royal Commis- sioners, in making a Supplementary Report upon their own account, stated * that all the evidence showed that the conscience clause of the Act of 1870 is very rarely violated. In other words they say : Children are not refused admission into Church, Roman Catholic, or Wesleyan day-schools because they refuse to attend Church, Roman Catholic or Wesleyan Sunday-schools. They are not compelled to receive religious instruction in day-schools if their parents ask that they may be with- drawn from it; and religious instruction and religious observances are not permitted to interrupt the secular work of the schools, but in accordance with the con- science clause, are restricted to the beginning or the end, or the beginning and the end of the school hours. Conclusion of the Commissioners as to the Alleged Violation of the Conscience Clause. The Commissioners in concluding their view of the value of the whole evidence submitted to them upon this important subject say: "We welcome, therefore, the * Final Report of Royal Commission, 1888, p. 373. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 173 evidence laid before us which shows that even where the children of Nonconformists are not withdrawn under the conscience clause many teachers, when they have any means of distinguishing such children, are studiously careful, while giving religious instruction in accordance with the denomination of the school, not to put to them questions which would require answers at variance with the religious persuasions of their parents. But the absence of any substantiated case of complaint and the general drift of the evidence convince us that the con- science clause is carefully observed both by teachers and managers."* But is the Conscionce Clause efl8.cient ? Those members of the Royal Commission who dissented in certain particulars from the Report of the majority made the candid admission, quoted in a previous section, as to the conscience clause not being violated, and they, at the same time, raised the question as to whether it was efficient — that is, whether the conscience clause with its provisions, affords sufficient facilities and protection to parents in the matter of withholding their children from the receipt of religious instruction in any particular school. They say that while the witnesses who gave evidence against the conscience clause *' did not insist that it was violated, it was their contention that in large districts the present provisions of the law, even when they are not violated, offer no adequate protection to the religious liberty of Nonconformist parents." t * Final Report of Royal Commission, 1888, p. 121. t Ibid., p. 374. 174 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. The pertinent and proper reply to the statements of such witnesses is, that they could not possibly have had any adequate means of finding out the accuracy of the statements which they made. How did the witnesses know, as they assumed to know, that parents generally regard the conscience clause in the light represented ? How did they ascertain the mind of the parents upon the subject? By what mandate, given to them by parents, did they testify on their behalf? It is manifest that such evidence must be taken merely for what it is worth, and as the expression of the opinion of individual men unfriendly to voluntary or denominational schools and anxious to make out a case against them. The facts adduced in a previous section, show that, from officially obtained statistics relative to religious instruction given in voluntary schools over the greater part of England, the overwhelming body of evidence was to the effect, that parents generally are strongly in favour of religious instruction as a part of daily education in elementary schools. This being so, there is no proof of the existence of that morbid sensitiveness, and jealous watchfulness on the part of parents, concerning the pre- cise form in which religious instruction is given, such as is alleged by the opponents of religious teaching in elementary schools. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 75 Modifications of Conscience Clause with a View to provide more EflQ.cient Protection for Parents objecting to Religious Teaching, ought not to lessen the Existing Guarantees to Managers of Denominational Schools for absolute Freedom in communicating Religious Instruction. In conclusion it may be stated that, unfortunately, a great proportion of the parents whose children are in attendance at both voluntary and Board schools know little, if anything, of religious subjects at all. They are utterly indifferent as to whether their children shall, or shall not, receive the religious instruction given in the particular school which they attend. There are great numbers of parents who, while utterly deficient in know- ledge of religious truth themselves, are anxious that their children shall receive religious instruction, as they believe it will conduce to their present and future happi- ness. There are also many parents who, having a fair knowledge of religious truth but neither the opportunity nor ability to communicate it to their children, insist upon their children being instructed in such truth as well as in other subjects, as a part of their daily education. Further, it cannot be doubted that vast numbers of persons who habitually or occasionally attend Noncon- formist chapels for some particular reason, which for the time being leads them to prefer doing so, would hesitate, if not positively refuse, to call themselves Dissenters or Nonconformists. Their habitual or occasional presence at a Nonconformist chapel is not to be taken as con- clusive proof that they have severed themselves from the Church, or wish to label themselves or their 176 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. children as Nonconformists. It is evident that such parents might be led to attend a place of worship other than the Church of England because of some temporary incident, which might not necessarily involve any con- scientious objection to the Church's teaching. Such persons therefore, would, without any qualification or reserve whatever, allow their children to attend Church schools, and receive the religious instruction which in them forms a part of their educational programme. In any case, however, it is undoubtedly a fact the evidence before the Commission bears out, that the allega- tions of a prevailing objection on the part of parents to religious instruction given in Church schools, rest upon no tangible foundation and are unsupported by anything like proof. But if it can be shown that any modification of the conscience clause could be safely made, which would preserve unimpaired to the Church and other religious bodies, their present legal right and freedom of action in giving instruction in the facts and doctrines of religion as they have received them — a modification which would reassure distrustful Nonconformists on this subject so as to give them greater confidence in the efficient working of the conscience clause — removing from their minds any shade of a suspicion of unfair play or undue influence in its operation in elementary schools, then let such modification be made. CHAPTER XII. SOME FINDINGS OF THE ROYAL COMMISSIONERS REFERRING TO SUBJECTS DEALT WITH IN THE PRECEDING PAGES. In the preceding pages the inauguration of elementary education has been dealt with. It has been shown to have been voluntary, religious, and denominational in its origin. The provisions made for education, as set forth in the Education Acts and Codes, have been con- sidered. The existing provision made for elementary education has been described. The supply of school accommodation has been shown to be amply sufficient to meet the wants of the country. The responsibility of providing additional school accommodation, to meet any deficiency that may from time to time arise, has been proved to devolve upon a School Board, only when the supporters of voluntary schools have failed to supply it. The management of voluntary and Board schools has been fully discussed and contrasted. Suggestions have been made with reference to the important subject of the Federation of Church Schools, and the advantages arising therefrom have been pointed out. The im- portance of denominational Training Colleges has been M 178 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. dwelt upon. The subjects of free education and religious and moral training, in their various aspects, have been dis- cussed at considerable length. The conscience clause has been explained ; and inquiry has been made as to whether it is honestly adhered to, and is in effective operation in the public elementary schools throughout the country, with the result that its working has been found to be satisfactory. A Royal Commission was appointed in December, 1885, for the purpose of inquiring into the Elementary Education Acts, and of eliciting all information possible, within its prescribed area, on the subject of education generally. There were on the Commission, as repre- senting the Church, the Lord Bishop of London, the Venerable Benjamin F. Smith, M.A., Archdeacon of Maidstone, Canon Gregory, and the Rev. Dr. Morse. Various religious bodies outside the Church were repre- sented as follows : — Cardinal Manning, on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church; Dr. Dale, of Birmingham, on behalf of the Congregationalisls ; Dr. Rigg, on behalf of the Wesleyans ; and the late Henry Richard, Esq., MP., who had previously been a Nonconformist minister. There were also on the Commission some of the most distinguished laymen, representing various shades of political, religious, and educational opinion, such as Lord Cross, the Chairman ; the Earl of Harrowby ; the Earl of Beauchamp ; Lord Norton ; Sir John Lubbock, Bart, M.P.; Sir Francis R. Sandford, C.B. ; Sydney Buxton, Esq., M.P. ; The Hon. Lyulph Stanley ; John Gilbert Talbot, Esq., M.P., and others. It will thus be seen that the Royal Commission was a thoroughly representative body. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 79 Amongst the witnesses who gave evidence before it there were representatives of every school of religious and educational opinion, and carefully selected repre- sentatives from Her Majesty's inspectors of schools; from the most qualified managers and teachers of voluntary schools throughout the kingdom ; and from members and teachers of Board schools — all of whom were familiar with the theory and practice of elementary education in England and Wales. After an exhaustive inquiry into the practical working of the Education Acts, and the subject of elementary education generally, extending over a period of two years, the Commissioners arrived at most important conclusions on all the subjects which had received their consideration. Such of their conclusions and recom- mendations as concern some of the main subjects which have been dealt with in the preceding chapters are here given.* They are as follows : — Supply of Schools. 1. " That under the present conditions of elementary education, we accept the existing rule, that in the case of populations containing the ordinary proportion of the upper classes, ^ after making due allowance for absence on account of sickness, weather, distance from school, and other reasonable excuses for irregular attendance, school seats should be provided for one-sixth of the total population : ' and that on the whole the demand for school accommodation has been fairly met. * Final Report of Royal Commission, Part vii., pp. 208-223. l8o THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 2. "That the power of deciding on the claims of schools to be supported out of the Parliamentary grant can hardly be placed in other hands than those of the Department, to which it has been committed by statute, and should not be placed in the hands of a local body. 3. " That the remedy for the grievance felt in the case of certain schools, pronounced by the Department to be unnecessary, seems to be in a more liberal interpretation of the term * suitability,' and in a close adherence to the spirit of the provisions of the Act of 1870. 4. *' That, in any fresh educational legislation, it should be enacted that no transfer of a school held under trust should take place without the consent of a majority of the trustees, and that the Department should not sanction such terms of transfer as interfere with the original trust beyond what is required for the purposes of the Education Acts, and that provision should be made that no structural expenses, involving a loan, should be incurred without the consent of the trustees who lease the building. 6. " That we see no reason why voluntary effort should not be entitled to ^orV pari passu with a School Board in providing accommodation to meet any increase of popu- lation subsequent to the determination of the necessary school supply arrived at by the Department after the first inquiry of 187 1. If a similar inquiry were held periodically, say, every five years, voluntary effort might be recognised in the interval between two inquiries as entitled to meet any deficiency not ordered to be filled up by the School Board on the requisition of the Depart- ment. We do not think that the letter, much less the spirit, of the Act of 1870, would be violated by such arrangement, or by its being distinctly understood that THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 15 [ an efficient school, whether provided to meet a numerical deficiency or specially required by any part of the population, would be admitted by the Department as part of the supply of the district, and be entitled to claim a grant as soon as it was opened." School Management. 1. " That voluntary schools should be placed under a body of managers in all cases where efficient managers can be obtained ; and that as any system of managem.ent which allows schools to be farmed by teachers is em- phatically to be condemned, effective measures ought to be taken to render its continuance impossible. 2. " That so long as the parents are not a prepondera- ting element, they should be represented on the committee of management, but that, so long as voluntary schools do not receive aid from the rates, there seems no suffi- cient reason why the management clauses of their trust deeds should be set aside in order to introduce repre- sentatives of the ratepayers." Training Colleges. ** That the contention, that it is wrong in principle for the State to contribute tov/ards denominational training colleges, is obviously inadmissible so long as 69 per cent, of our elementary schools, containing 56.37 per cent, of the scholars, are themselves denominational, and comes too late in the day after the State has entered into bind- ing engagements with these institutions." 1 82 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Religious and Moral Training. 1. " That while we desire to secure for the children in the public elementary schools the best and most thorough instruction in secular subjects, suitable to their years and in harmony with the requirements of their future life, we are also unanimously of opinion that their religious and moral training is a matter of still higher importance, alike to the children, the parents, and the nation. 2. " That there can be no doubt, from the statement of the witnesses, whether favourable or hostile to teaching religion in day-schools, and from the testimony afforded by the action of both School Boards and voluntary schools, as to the opinion of the country generally on the subject of religious and moral training in day-schools, and that all the evidence is practically unanimous as to the desire of the parents for the religious and moral training of their children. 3. *' That to secularise elementary education would be a violation of the wishes of parents, whose views in such a matter are, w^e think, entitled to the first consideration. 4. " That the only safe foundation on which to con- struct a theory of morals, or to secure high moral conduct, is the religion which our Lord Jesus Christ has taught the world. That as we look to the Bible for instruction concerning morals, and take its words for the declaration of what is morality, so we look to the same inspired source for the sanctions by which men may be led to practice what is there taught, and for instruction con- cerning the helps by which they may be enabled to do what they have learned to be right. 5. " That the evidence does not warrant the conclu- THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 83 sioii that religious and moral training can be amply provided otherwise than through the medium of elemen- tary schools. 6. '*'rhat, in the case of a considerable number of children, if they do not receive religious instruction and training from the teachers in the public elementary schools, they will receive none, and that this would be a matter of the gravest concern to the State. 7. ** That all registers should be marked before the religious teaching and observances begin, scrupulous care being taken, in accordance with the letter and spirit of the Education Acts, to provide for the case of children whose parents object to such teaching and observ- ances. 8. *'That it is of the highest importance that the teachers who are charged with the moral training of the scholars should continue to take part in the religious instruction, and that any separation of the teacher from the religious teaching of the school would be injurious to the moral and secular training of the scholars. . 9. " That we cannot recommend the plan which has been suggested of religious instruction to be given by voluntary teachers on the school premises out of school hours. That such a plan would be no efficient substitute for the existing system of utilising the school staff and the hours of school attendance for this purpose, a system which has taken deep root in the country and appears to give general satisfaction to the parents. 10. " That the State cannot be constructively regarded as endowing religious education, when, under the condi- tions of the Act of 1870 it pays annual grants in aid of voluntary local efforts for secular instruction in schools 184 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. in which religious instruction forms part of the pro- gramme. 11. " That the 14th section of the Act of 1870, which forbids any denominational catechism or formulary to be taught in Board schools, merely provided for perfect neutrality among Christian denominations. It does not exclude from the schools instruction in the religion of Nature, that is^ the existence of God and of natural morality, which, apart from belief in the existence of God, cannot be intelligibly taught or understood. 12. *'That the conscience clause is strangely miscon- strued when it is understood to * prevent the possibility of any allusion to religious subjects during the ordinary hours of instruction,' or to preclude a teacher from * bringing the sanction of the Christian religion to bear ' on any moral offence, such as lying, which requires attention during these hours. 13. ** That inasmuch as parents are compelled to send their children to school, it is just and desirable that, as far as possible, they should be enabled to send them to a school suitable to their religious convictions or prefer- ences. 14. " That in schools of a denominational character to which parents are compelled to send their children, the parents have a right to require an operative con- science clause, and that care be taken that the children shall not suffer in any way in consequence of their taking advantage of the conscience clause. 15. *' That the absence of any substantiated case of complaint, and the general drift of the evidence, con- vince us that the conscience clause is carefully observed both by teachers and managers. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 85 16. " That we recognise, nevertheless, the importance of removing, if possible, any suspicion of unfair play or undue influence in the administration of the conscience clause from the minds of those who entertain such im- pressions. And any further precautions which might tend in that direction, without compromising still higher interests, are deserving of the most careful considera- tion. 17. ""That greatly as the estimate of the value of the religious instruction given in Board schools varies with the standpoint from which it is regarded, there is good ground for concluding that where care is bestowed on the organisation of such instruction, and sufficient time is allowed for imparting it, it is of a nature to affect the conscience and influence the conduct of the children of whose daily training it forms a part. That it is much to be hoped that the religious and moral training in all elementary schools may be raised to the high standard which has been already reached in many of them. 18. " That exactly the same facilities to hold annual examinations of their schools in religious knowledge should be given by law to School Boards as are now allowed, under section 76 of the Act of 1870, to the managers of voluntary schools. 19. " That increased support should be given by the State to the moral element of training in our schools, almost the only reference to the importance of such matters made by the State being that which is made in the Code under the head of discipline. 20. " That general, fundamental, and fixed instructions to Her Majesty's inspectors should be laid down as to moral training, making it an essential condition of the 1 86 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. efficiency of a public elementary school, that its teaching should comprise such matters as instruction in duty and reverence to parents, honour and truthfulness in word and act, honesty, consideration and respect for others, obedience, cleanliness, good manners, purity, temper- ance, duty to country, the discouragement of bad language, and the hke. 21. " That it should be the first duty of Her Majesty's inspectors to inquire into and report upon the moral training and condition of the schools under the various heads set forth, and to impress upon the managers, teachers, and children, the primary importance of this essential element of all education." CHAPTER XIII. IN WHICH SOME OF THE CHIEF FACTS AND ARGUMENTS SET FORTH IN THE PRECEDING CHAPTERS ARE PRESENTED IN A POPULAR FORM. Some Popular Fallacies Concerning Church Schools. 1. " Has not the State naturally favoured the Church in allowing her to have so many schools compared with the numbers possessed by other religious bodies ? " No, indeed. The State has not in any way favoured the Church in this matter. Churchmen felt bound, as far as possible, to provide schools for the poor in all their parishes throughout the land long before the State took any interest whatsoever in elementary education. It was in fact, solely the interest which Churchmen felt in the children of the poor which induced them to build schools for their elementary education. Before Parliament was alive to the importance of the movement, or indeed had taken any trouble in the matter, the l88 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Church had already become possessed of large numbers of elementary schools which the self- sacrifice and liberality of her members had enabled her to erect. 2. " But when the State began to take an interest in elementary education, did it not favour the Church in making exceptionally large grants for the supply of Church schools ? " No such thing took place. No such partiality was shown by the State in its dealings with the Church on the subject of elementary education. From the time when the State began to make grants for the building of elementary schools it made them to Churchmen and Dissenters alike, in the same proportion, and on the same terms, subject to their making religious instruction part of their teaching in their own respective ways. No favour or partiality whatever was shown to the Church or to Churchmen. In the work of school building, from the year 1833, when the State made its first annual grant of ;^2 0,000 a year for the building of new schools, up to the time of the payment of its last building grant to voluntary schools in 1882, the State distributed its grants proportionately to the Church and other religious bodies in the most equitable manner, on condition that they complied with the terms on which each grant was made. 3. *' But did not the State build some, if not the greater number, of the Church schools ? " The State in no case built schools of any kind, nor did it give grants to the Church or other religious bodies sufficient in their amounts to build schools ; THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 89 but it gave grants to help in the building of schools. In years past, therefore, those persons who, through the National Society, or the British and Foreign School Society, whether as Churchmen or Dis- senters, came forward with the most numerous offers to build schools in places, according to plans, and on terms, approved of by the Government, naturally received the largest share of the Govern- ment grants for that purpose, having earned them by their greater liberality. 4. "But has not the State given to the Church in many parishes and districts a monopoly in the matter of elementary education ? " No. The State has given to the Church no monopoly in the matter of elementary education, any more than it has given to her a monopoly in the matter of buildings for public worship. The Church made provision for the education of children in her various parishes long before the different religious bodies existed. She continued to do so subsequently to their origin, before they recognised the duty of taking any part in the work of the education of the poor, just as she covered the land with churches long before any organised religious body existed outside of her communion, or before a single Nonconformist chapel was built in any of her parishes. 5. " But is it not unfair to compel the children of non- religionists and of Nonconformists to attend Church elementary schools ? " There is nothing unfair about it. The children of non-religionists and the children of Noncon- 190 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. formists attending Church schools are compelled to attend only in case of there not being a Board or a British school within school distance. Further, they are compelled to attend a Church school in such a case for the purpose of receiving instruction in secular subjects only. In no case are they com- pelled to receive instruction in the doctrines of the Church of England, nor to receive any religious instruction whatever, nor are they in any way required to be present when religious instruction is given. Besides, the unfairness, generally over- looked, on the other side, is that in districts in which Board schools only exist. Church parents are obliged to send their children to them although no religious instruction is given in accordance with the prin- ciples of the Church of England, which they believe should form an essential part of daily education ; if, indeed, any religious instruction is given in them at all. 6. " But is it not a fact that Church elementary schools receive by far the largest proportion of Parliamentary grants made for school maintenance, compared with Board schools and the schools of all the religious denominations ? " Undoubtedly ; but there is nothing unfair in this. If the Church receives a larger proportion of the Parliamentary grants for the maintenance of her schools, it is because she has earned it and is legally entitled to it : — (a) Because the Church has provided the largest amount of school accommodation ; THE EDUCATION BRIEF. I9I {b) Because the Church has secured the largest average attendance of children ; and {c) Because the Church has complied with the Government requirements in the management of her schools, and in the character of the education given to the children attending them, apart from the fact, v/hich cannot of course be taken into consideration, that Churchmen contribute by far the largest proportion of the taxes from which the grants are made, as well as contribute the largest amount to the rates for the support of Board schools. 7. " Is it not hard upon non-religionists and certain denominationalists who may object to send their children to Church elementary schools, that they should not be permitted to have a School Board and a Board school in their parish or district ? " They are permitted to have a School Board also and a Board school if the school accommodation is deficient and the majority of the ratepayers wish such deficiency to be supplied by the creation of a School Board and the building of a Board school. But it is manifest that if there be sufficient volun- tary elementary school accommodation, or if there be a deficiency and the ratepayers prefer that it should be supplied by a voluntary body and by voluntary contributions, and not by a School Board and the rates, which would be the case if a Board school were to be built : then it would be an injustice to the majority of the parishioners if the minority were allowed to impose upon them a School Board 192 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. and Board school, contrary to their wishes, and thus burden them with rates for the support of the legal machinery of a Board and the erection and main- tenance of Board schools, in addition to the heavy burden that they have voluntarily taken upon them- selves of maintaining their own voluntary schools without any aid from the rates. 8. " Is it a fact, as is alleged, that Church elementary schools receiving grants from the State in aid of educa- tion are not under public control ? " If that be alleged it certainly is not a fact. All Church elementary schools receiving grants from the State are most effectually under the public control of the Government. The managers of each school receiving a grant are obliged to satisfy the Education Department that everything as to the building, the management, and the conduct of the school, is in conformity with the Government require- ments. Each school is examined annually by a Govern- ment inspector, who tests the children in their knowledge of all secular subjects on which they have received instruction in the course of the year, and reports thereon to the Education Department ; and on the character of the report thus given depends the receipt of a grant and its amount. Moreover, all the school accounts have to be sub- mitted to the Government inspector. Every bill and voucher has to be produced. Not a farthing on account of religious instruction can be allowed in the expenditure of any school receiving a Govern- ment grant. If all these Governmental precautions THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 93 and provisions do not amount to public control over Church elementary schools, then it is difficult to say what public control can mean. 9. "Yes; but there is not such public control exercised over Church elementary schools as there is over Board schools ? " There is the same kind of public Government control, but not the same kind of what may be called local public control. Board schools have been built from the rates, and are in the greatest part supported by the rates ; and therefore the rate- payers, as such, exercise control over them through their representatives, the members of the School Board, just as the Government through its inspectors and the Education Department, exercises control over them, on account of the annual grants which they receive from the Department. But the case of Church elementary schools, which have not been built by funds provided by the rates, nor maintained in any way from the rates, differs altogether from that of Board schools. The rate- payers, therefore, as such, can have no right of public control over them in the same way as they have over Board schools, which have been built and are maintained by a charge upon the rates. The control over Church elementary schools is exercised by the parties who chiefly provide the funds for their maintenance — namely, by the volun- tary subscribers through their managers, who subscribe the funds for their support, and by the Government, that gives a grant, through its Educa- tion Department and school inspectors. 194 I'HE EDUCATION BRIEF. This arrangement is on parallel lines with that which prevails in Board schools. In their case, in addition to school-pence, they are supported by rates and a Government grant 3 so that ratepayers, through their School Board, and the Government, through its Education Department, exercise control over them. In addition to all that has been said, it is important to bear in mind that the public control exercised over voluntary Church elementar}^ schools is precisely the same as that exercised over Roman Catholic, Wesleyan, and British voluntary ele- mentary schools. There is no exemption granted by the Government, or claimed by Churchmen, in favour of Church schools from that pul>lic control to which all other voluntary schools are subject. 2. Why Should Churchmen Object to the Transfer of Church Schools to School Boards ? L Because by the transfer of Church schools to School Boards the premises and buildings would be alienated from the specific purposes for which the}" were acquired and erected, and would be devoted to uses expressly at variance with the intentions and wishes of those by whom they were provided. 2. Because the specific trusts drawn up, in most cases, under the advice and superintendence of the National Society, as representing the Church of England, and agreed to by the State in past years, would be violated, notwithstanding any provision in the Education Act of THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 95 1870 releasing the trustees from their obligation to carry out the terms of the trust deeds. 3. Because the transfer of a Church voluntary school to a School Board is a capitulation of the educational ground which the Church has acquired in the past as the result of great liberality and self-sacrifice upon the part of her members. Such transfer would be a public confession of the failure of the Church to maintain the educational work deliberately taken up in the locality in which the transferred school is situated. 4. Because the fact of a Church school being trans- ferred to a School Board is not only a great discourage- ment to Churchmen in the work of elementary education, but is sure to be represented by the opponents of the Church as a proof of the Church's generally waning strength, and of her failure in maintaining her ground in the country. 5. Because the transfer of a Church school in any parish to a School Board may effectually prevent devout and liberally disposed members of the Church, in that locality, from rendering the help that they otherwise might have done to the work of voluntary education. 6. Because, if a Church school be transferred to the School Board, it is not always easy to effect the transfer on such terms as will vest in the original managers the reasonable use of the building for all Church objects, when it is not used for Board school purposes. 7. Because, when a school has been transferred to a School Board, it is difficult to provide for its re-transfer, should the Church require a re-transfer to take place. The premises and buildings being in the possession of the School Board, a large expenditure may have been made in 196 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. altering, enlarging, improving, or reconstructing the school buildings, which expenditure school managers would have to refund as a condition of recovering their transferred property. 8. Because, in such a transterred school the clergy of the parish would no longer have any legal right of entry into such transferred school during school hours, to superintend the religious instruction given, or to look after the moral and religious welfare of either the teachers or the children. 9. Because no guarantee can be given that in such transferred school, religious instruction would be con- tinuously and permanently imparted under the superin- tendence of each succeeding School Board ; or if religious instruction were to be given, no legal guarantee could be offered as to its character, nor could the clergy and managers have any voice, as they had previous to its transfer, in the selection of the teachers that might be from time to time appointed. 10. Because there is and can be no certainty whatever as to the religious principles on which such a transferred school would be conducted, forasmuch as the members of the School Board have to be elected once in every three years, and those who may be placed on suc- ceeding School Boards may be elected for other reasons than their interest in education or their qualifications for their office. It is possible, indeed, that they may be returned on the grounds of their well-known secularism or infidelity, and their opposition to all religious instruc- tion whatsoever. il. Because, under the provisions of the Education Act relating to the transfer of voluntary schools, power THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 1 97 is given to the managers, by a special vote of a majority of two-thirds of the subscribers, to transfer any voluntary school from its specific trust uses, independent of any voice or vote of the trustees. This the Act em- powers them to do, notwithstanding that such managers may have been recently appointed, perhaps for the very purpose of bringing about such transfer, and have never contributed a single farthing to the erection of the school, if indeed they have ever contributed to its maintenance. 12. Because, after considering the whole subject, the Royal Commissioners on Education have recorded it as their opinion, and have made a recommendation to the effect that, in any fresh educational legislation, it should be en- acted that no transfer of a school held in trust should take place without the consent of a majority of the trustees ; and that the Department should not sanction such transfer beyond what is required for the purposes of the Education Acts, provision being made that no structural expenses involving a loan should be incurred without the consent of the trustees. Voluntary and Board Schools Contrasted. 1. The promoters of voluntary schools give the best guarantees of their interest in the education of the poor, in that they not only give themselves to a self-chosen work, but also have to pay for the building and maintenance of their schools. The promoters of Board schools may, or may not, be in earnest in the work of el ementary education. But they are not called upon to give monetary proof of their earnestness as are the sup- 19^ THE EDUCATION BRIEF. porters of the voluntary system. The promoters of Board schools do their work at the expense of others. They throw the whole burden of the cost of their schools upon the rates, as to both building and maintenance. 2. The building of a voluntary school adds to the school accommodation of the parish without any grant from Parliament or charge upon the rates. The building of a Board school involves borrowing a large sum for its erection, for the annual repayment of which, with the interest thereon, the rates are given as security and made chargeable for a long period of years. 3. The average cost of building a Board school and pro- viding therein a school place for each scholar has been JP^\2 \os. per child. The whole of this amount has to be paid by the ratepayers. The cost of providing a school place per scholar in average attendance at a voluntary school is ;£5 7^-., not one penny of which is chargeable on the rates. 4. In the Board schools throughout England and Wales, excepting London, the ordinary cost of mainten- ance and education per scholar is ^2 45-. 7^^, of which sum 8j-. 115^. comes from school-pence; and 175-. *]\d. from the ratepayers ; 7^. from miscellaneous sources, and the remainder from government grants. But in voluntary schools the average cost of school maintenance and education per child is only :£\ 16^. 4^., of which sum the school pence supply 11^. o\d. per scholar; ds, 7|^. comes from voluntary subscriptions ; i^. ^\d. comes from endowments; \\d. per scholar is derived from miscel- laneous sources, and the remainder is from government grants — but not one farthing comes from the rates. 5. In London Board schools the total cost of school THE EDUCATION BRIEF. T99 maintenance and education per child, including repay- ment of loans and cost of School Board administration, amounts to the large sum of ;^3 os. 6\d., of which ;£i 145-. i|^. per child comes from the rates; whilst the average cost per scholar, in the voluntary schools of the metropolis, is only ^£2 4^. i|^., not one fraction of which is chargeable on the rates. 6. The School Boards of England and Wales, up to the 6th of April, 1888, had borrowed ;^2o,6o8,877 ^^ build and acquire schools. Of this enormous sum, on the 29th of September, 1888, over ;£i6,7i5,iio re- mained unpaid, while the School Boards in Wales had at the same time an outstanding liability of ;£^834,i57, making a total of ;^ 17,549,267 for the security of which the rates throughout England and Wales were mortgaged. But on the voluntary schools there are no debts nor mort- gages, for which the ratepayers are responsible. They have not to pay a single fai thing for their erection or maintenance. 7. In Boroughs the School Board rate in England in 1888, on the rateable value, varied as follows : — In over 30 per cent, of the boroughs, it was between 3^. and 6d. in the pound. In 26 per cent, it was between 6d, and 9^. In 15 per cent, it was between 9^. and is. In over 8 per cent, it was is. and upwards ; and in other cases it amounted to from is. 6d. to between 2s. and 3s., but in none of these boroughs were any voluntary schools chargeable on the rates. 8. In Parishes the School Board rate for the same period was : — In 644 cases between 3^. and 6d. ; in 538 cases between 6d. and 9^.; in 227 cases between 9^. and is.-, 200 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. and in 142 cases ij". and upwards ; but in none of these cases, in any parish, were the voluntary schools in any way chargeable on the rates. During the year 1888, the average School Board rate througliout England and Wales for the building and support of schools was 7.1 pence; but there was no rate whatever for the building or support of any voluntary schools. 9. When voluntary schools are built, there is but little charge for the administration of their affairs ; but in the case of Board schools, the cost of administration of their affairs alone, in London, amounts to 3^. 9^. per scholar, and throughout England and Wales to 4^. 4//. per scholar. 10. When persons are appointed or elected members of the Committee or Board of Management of a volun- tary school, they are generally chosen because they have shown some interest in elementary education. But in the election of a School Board, persons may be elected as members who previously have shown no interest whatever in the subject of elementary education, and have not in any way contributed towards it. They may even be totally unqualified for the position, and may be elected by some social clique, or political party, in order to further some object other than the advancement of education. 11. In the case of voluntary schools persons are generally appointed or elected as school managers for so long as they take an interest in, and render service to, the schools committed to their care. They may thus become well acquainted with the teachers, children, business and working of the school, and gradually gain most valuable experience to further qualify them for the discharge of THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 20I their duties. In Board schools, no matter how well qualified, efficient, and interested in education any persons may be as members of the School Board, and no matter what services they may have rendered in the cause of education, they are liable to be ousted from their office at the next periodical election to give place to political partisans and anti-religionist repre- sentatives who may care nothing for education whatsoever, and whose sole object in seeking a place on the Board may be altogether apart from a desire to render any services to the furtherance of elementary education. 12. The character of the religious instruction given in voluntary schools is fixed and settled by a trust deed, subject to the conscience clause, and is in no way de- pendent upon the vote of the managers. In Board schools, whether there shall be any religious instruction at all given to the children, and, if so, of what character it shall be, is entirely dependent upon the changing opinions and vote of the members of the Board. Their decision may be questionable, and the effect of their judgment in the matter, whatever it may be, can have no permanency, seeing that it not only is liable to be changed by the next elected Board, but may be changed from time to time by the existing Board itself. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Grievances of Supporters of Voluntary Schools. 1. When the promoters of the School Board system succeed in introducing a School Board and building Board schools in any borough or parish, they compel those who conscientiously object to such schools to pay a contribu- tion for their building and maintenance out of the rates ; but when voluntary schools are built no person is com- pelled to contribute towards their erection or maintenance. Those who contribute do so of their own free will. 2. In the case of the voluntary schools, no portion of the Parliamentary grant goes to pay for religious instruction given to the children, and therefore the religious instruction given within voluntary schools can be no just cause of grievance to those who neither pay for it nor whose children are bound to receive it, being protected, as they are, by the conscience clause. But in the case of Board schools all the supporters of voluntary schools are bound to pay rates for the religious instruc- tion given within them, although such teaching may be of a character of which they cannot conscientiously approve. 3. This is a special hardship and just grievance to Church parents, who not only cannot get in the Board school the definite religious teaching which they desire for their children, but also are obliged to pay rates towards a kind of religious teaching which they may regard as not merely insufficient but erroneous. 4. While the advocates of Board schools have to pay only their share of the rates for the erection and main- THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 203 tenance of Board schools, Churchmen and the supporters of voluntary schools have not only to pay their pro- portion of the School Board rate, but to bear the expense of supporting their own schools. 6. By the School Board system, School Boards may suppress any existing syllabus of religious teaching in their schools ; or they may formulate and enforce a syllabus of religious instruction of their own creation, for which supporters of voluntary schools are obliged to pay from the rates. These capricious and arbitrarily varying orders as to religious instruction, devised according to the whim of each School Board, constitute in religious matters a system of coercion endowed with funds from the rates. 6. By the School Board system the members of any par- ticular Board have the power of saying whether there shall or shall not be religious instruction given in the schools over which they have control, and, if so, of determining what that religious instruction shall be, and how it shall be given. The members of a School Board are invested with these powers without any guarantees of their moral or religious qualifications to decide upon such important questions ; whereas in the voluntary schools, and especially those belonging to the Church of England, the whole subject of religious instruction and its charac- ter are fixed and settled as part of the daily education of the child, entirely independent of the opinions of the school managers. 7. By the present School Board system rates are extorted from Churchmen towards the building and support of Board schools placed side by side, and in unfriendly competition with, their own voluntary schools ; so that, while Churchmen and all other supporters of 204 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. voluntary schools with one hand pay a voluntary con- tribution towards the building and maintenance of their own schools, they are obliged with the other hand to pay the enforced rate for the support of the Board school which is frequently placed in direct antagonism to their own school, and is sometimes subversive of its existence. 6. Why should a Ratepayer prefer Volun- tary Schools to Board Schools ? 1. Because the whole cost of building Board schools and more than one-half the cost of their maintenance, besides the meeting of the expenditure incidental to the maintenance of the Board system, come out of the rates, while not a farthing for any of these objects comes out ot the rates in the case of voluntary schools. 2. Because voluntary schools are more economically provided and maintained than Board schools, seeing that it costs jQ\2 \os, to provide a school place for each child in a Board school, while it costs only ;^ 5 ^s. to provide a place for each child in a voluntary school. And while it costs only jT^x 165. 4^. per annum to pro- vide for the education of a child in a Church of England voluntary school, it requires ^£2 4^. 7^^. to provide for the education of each child in a Board school. But if the expenditure incidental to the organisation and the administration of School Boards be taken into account it costs ;^3 55. 51^. per head to provide for the educa- tion of each scholar. 3. Because in providing school accommodation in voluntary schools for 3,547,073 children, the religious THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 205 bodies to which such voluntary schools belong have not charged the rates with a single farthing, while, in build- ing and providing schools to accommodate 1,809,481 children, School Boards have borrowed upon the security of the rates ;^20, 678, 87 7 to pay for their erection; for the repayment of which sum, with interest, a very heavy annual charge is made upon the rates throughout England and Wales in districts in which Board schools exist. 4. Because School Boards, by the extension of their schools, annually increase the charge upon the rates for both their building and maintenance; but by the extension of voluntary schools there is no charge upon the rates whatever for either of these objects. 6. Because every Board school that is built places an additional burden upon the rates on account of the repay- ment of the borrowed capital, necessary to build the school, with annual interest thereon ; while it burdens the rates with an additional annual charge for its maintenance. No voluntary school adds to the rates in any way whatever. 6. Because ratepayers have no sense of security as to what the maximum of the annual School Board rate may amount to, on account of Board school extension, or what shall be the limit of their liability in the work of providing elementary education; whereas, in the erection of a voluntary school they need have no anxiety or concern in the matter. 7. Because ratepayers every year have good reasons, on the ground of increasing expenditure on the part of School Boards, to distrust the whole economy of the School Board system, having been assured, on the introduction of School Boards, that the limit of School 206 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Board rate would not exceed 3^. in the pound ; whereas now it is double that sum, being, on an average, more than 7^. in the pound on the rateable value of property throughout England and Wales, while in certain parishes the rate ranges from i^. to over 2s. 6d. in the pound. e. Why should Churchmen, being Supporters of Voluntary Schools, seek to become Members of School Boards ? 1. Because, as Board schools are supported by the rates and taxes, and as Churchmen throughout England and Wales undoubtedly pay the largest proportion of these, they ought to be adequately represented on School Boards, which derive their funds, and defray their expen- diture, from these public sources of income. 2. Because Churchmen, as citizens, ought to claim their proportionate share in the management of such public bodies as are invested with statutory power, and charged with legal responsibility to provide for the edu- cation of the young. 3. Because, as members of School Boards, Churchmen can, in such a position, see that the largest amount of religious instruction, and in the most definite form per- mitted by the Education Act, shall be given to the children in Board schools. 4. Because School Boards, being invested with the power of deciding whether religious instruction shall or shall not be given in schools under their control, and, if so, of what kind it shall be, Churchmen who are members thereof can not only give their vote and exercise their THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 207 influence in support of religious instruction being given in every such school, but can also see that the quantity of the instruction shall be the largest permitted by the law ; and as to quality, that it shall be of the most definite character permitted by the Education Acts, not being distinctive of, or peculiar to, any particular religious denomination ; that is to say, that at least the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Apostles' Creed shall be taught in all schools where possible. 5. Because Churchmen, while deeply interested in, and to the best of their ability supporting, their own voluntary schools, should not abdicate their rightful position in taking their proper representative places in public bodies, which must necessarily, by their policy and actions, exercise a great influence upon the future of the country. 6. Because Churchmen being interested in the main- tenance and extension of voluntary schools can, as mem- bers of School Boards, use their influence to induce such bodies to treat the supporters and promoters of voluntary schools with fair consideration, and to restrain the Boards, of which they are members, from lavishly expending the money of the ratepayers in providing school accommodation in cases where the promoters of voluntary schools are willing to supply it without any charge upon the rates whatsoever. 7. Because Churchmen may influence the Board on which they sit to cede their prior right of supplying school accommodation to voluntary bodies as did the Board of Salisbury to the Bishop, the Church Extension Association, and others ; and as did the Board of York to the Church Extension Association alone when that Asso- ciation off'ered to supply part of the school accommo- 2o8 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. dation required. Churchmen can further use their in- fluence by procuring the recognition by the Board of new voluntary schools as " necessary." This was done by the Boards of both Croydon and Nottingham in the cases of schools of the Church Extension Association, which were subsequently placed on the list of the Education Depart- ment for annual grants. 8. Because Churchmen, as members of School Boards, have opportunities of bringing about a better under- standing between School Boards and managers of volun- tary schools. By lessening the friction which sometimes arises from their rival efforts of school extension, they can thus contribute to the bringing about of friendly co-operation between the two bodies in the important work of elementary education. 9. Because in any change which may take place in the law as to elementary education, with the carry- ing out of which School Boards may be charged, Churchmen, as members thereof, can do their best to see that, so far as the action of School Boards is con- cerned, the interests of voluntary schools shall not be prejudiced. 7. School Boards are actually State Con- stituted Authorities over Religious Instruction given in their Schools. 1. AVhJle by the Education Act of 1870 the State does not assign to the clergy in virtue of their office any control over religious teaching in Board schools, strange to say, it invests the School Board with absolute authority and THE EDUCATION BRIEF. ' 209 control over the whole question of religious instruction, and thereby creates a State-constituted authority in matters of religion which had no previous existence. 2. While the State withdraws from its school inspectors authority to inquire into the subject of religious instruc- tion in elementary schools, it confers upon the School Board, the power of deciding whether there shall be any religious instruction at all in schools under their control. If a Board decides that there shall be such instruction, then the State confers upon the Board power to determine of what quantity and quality it shall be. 3. The State, by the provisions of the Education Act of 1870, while taking steps to safeguard the rights of con- science of all parents in exempting their children from religious instruction to which they may object, gives them no right to demand for their children religious instruction in Board schools, if the School Board shall say that such instruction shall not be given. 4. Does not the State thus place the School Board authority, in matters of religion, above the parental authority, so that a parent is deprived of the right to demand that religious instruction shall be an essential part of his children's daily education, if the members of the School Board decide to the contrary ? 6. There are some twenty School Boards in England, and, marvellous to state, fifty in Wales, where the Non- conformist population is alleged so greatly to preponderate, which, by the exercise of State-conferred powers, arbitrarily over-ride the rights, liberties, and consciences of some parents on the subject of religious instruction. Against the decision of these Boards in such an important matter parents have no remedy whatsoever, unless, indeed, there o 2IO • THE EDUCATION BRIEF. should chance to be, within a convenient distance, some denominational schools of whose religious teaching, in whole or in part, they may be able to approve, and to which they can send their children. 6. In denominational schools, on the other hand, a religious minded parent who desires it can obtain for his child some reUgious instruction, at least, of which he can approve, which he might be unable to obtain in a Board School ; while a parent who objects to rehgious instruction of every kind, is invested with the power to withdraw his child from rehgious teaching altogether. The rights of parents and the rights of conscience are therefore, so far, more respected and guarded in denomina- tional schools than in Board schools. 7. In denominational schools in some cases a parent may possibly not be able to obtain for his children the exact kind of religious instruction which he desires. In Board schools he may not be able to get any religious instruction at all for his children, no matter how earnestly he may desire it, or to whatever extent he may have been led to expect it under the provisions of the Education Act of 1870. 8. Bad as this state of things is at the present time, and destructive as it is of the religious rights of parents, it would be much worse if the School Board system covered the whole of the land to the exclusion of deno- minational schools. 9. Such a revolution as this would place the entire question of religious instruction in the hands of men who, generally speaking, are not elected to their office on the ground that they are specially qualified, by education and experience, for superintending the work of religious in- THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 211 struction. They are themselves not sufficiently informed in the facts, doctrines, and precepts of Holy Scripture, to judge of the infinite importance of the possession of a fair knowledge of these subjects on the part of children who are educated in their schools. * 10. In fact, the serious and momentous character of the change in the matter of religious instruction given in elementary schools which would result from the State-creation of School Boards all over the country, constituting such School Boards the absolute authorities in deciding upon whether religious instruction shall or shall not be given in their schools, and if so of w^hat kind it shall be, is far from fully understood by the English people. 11. If a man's educational culture and moral and reli- gious fitness are not the chief considerations taken into account in the question of whether he shall or shall not be elected a member of a School Board, how can it be expected that a public body, composed of men so elected, should be regarded as competent to adjudicate upon such important questions as whether religious instruction shall be given in a school under their super- intendence, and, if so, what shall be its quantity, its quality, and the method by which it shall be imparted ? 12. So far as is known, there is no evidence to prove that members of School Boards, either before or after their election, endeavour in any way to ascertain what are the preferences of parents in their several con- stituencies on the question of religious instruction, so as to give effect to their wishes. 13. On the contrary, members of School Boards, once elected, discuss and decide upon such matters without 212 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. taking any census of the opinion of the parents in the School Board district which they represent, and too often act with autocratic absoluteness and arbitrariness, as if they were not only dictators of the situation^ but were also infallible in their decisions. 14. Except in the case of School Boards, English law has certainly never yet invested any body of men with such arbitrary powers, in matters of religion, as to be legally authorised to withhold religious instruction from parents who, as English citizens, demand it for their children in schools supported by public and parochial funds. In Board schools in which no religious instruc- tion is given everything is done to meet the wishes of non-religious and anti-religious parents, while the rights, wishes, and conscientious convictions of religious parents are completely ignored, and treated as unworthy of con- sideration. 8. Some Questions which may be put to School Board Candidates. 1. How long have you manifested any interest in the work of Elementary Education ? 2. Do you come forward as a candidate for any other reason than that of endeavouring to contribute to the best of your ability to the furtherance of elementary educational work ? 3. If elected a member of the School Board, do you consider yourself qualified by your educational acquire- ments to form a judgment as to whether those on the educational staff of a school are doing their duty ; whether education within the school is being effectively given ; THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 213 and whether the whole business routine of the school is being properly conducted ? 4. If elected a member of the School Board, will you pledge yourself to use your best influence in the appli- cation of the rates to School Board purposes, in the most economical manner consistent with all necessary provi- sions for school efficiency ? 6. If elected a member of the School Board, will you adhere to the strict lines laid down by the Education Act and regard Board schools as merely supplementary to, and not as superseding, existing denominational school accommodation in the district ? 6. If elected a member of the School Board will you, therefore, in acting on these lines, undertake not reck- lessly to squander the rates on building unnecessary Board schools in wasteful competition with denomina- tional schools ? If any additional school accommodation be required, will you, subject to the sanction of the Education Department, consent to its being supplied, in whole or in part, by voluntary effort, following the example in this matter of the School Boards of Salisbury and York? 7. Will you, in the exercise of your office, discourage anything like unfriendly rivalry between Board schools and denominational schools, and simply treat both kinds of schools as supplying the educational wants of the people in two different but perfectly compatible ways ? 8. Will you, therefore, see in all your School Board transactions that voluntary schools are encouraged and not discouraged, and refuse your consent to anything being done by the Board, of which you may be a member, to prejudice the interests of any public elementary denominational school in your district ?^ 214 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 9. Will you, if elected, see that the Board of which you are a member avails itself of its utmost liberty to give the largest amount of religious instruction in schools under its care ; so that, while the conscientious scruples of all parents objecting to their children receiving any religious instruction as a part of elementary education shall be duly respected, the parents who prefer religious instruction for their children shall at the same time be provided with it to the utmost limits that they may desire, and which it may be within the legal power of the Board to give ? 10. As to the time devoted to religious instruction, will you see that a fair proportion of the usual school hours shall be devoted to it, and that it shall not be deliberately omitted or put aside — as has been proved in many instances to be the case — in order to make greater room for instruction in secular subjects? 9. Given Free Education, why ought it to be granted on Terms consistent with the Maintenance and Extension of Voluntary Schools ? 1. Because the State, in the past, encouraged the building and maintenance of voluntary schools to do the work of elementary education on their own denomi- national lines, long before it made any other provision for the education of the public. 2. Because, on the express understanding that the State should permanently contribute to the support of voluntary schools, the promoters of the voluntary system ofediicaiion were induced, at an expenditure of millions THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 215 of voluntary contributions, to make provision, as far as possible, for elementary education throughout the kingdom. 3. Because to grant free education on terms that would be practically destructive of the existence of voluntary schools, would be recklessly to throw away the vast voluntary educational school supply of the country. 4. Because, if the voluntary schools were closed and the State had to provide school accommodation for the number of children which such voluntary schools now accommodate, it would involve an expenditure of some ^40,000,000 from rates or taxes, or from both sources. 5. Because, in addition to this expenditure of capital in providing school accommodation in place of that now supplied by voluntary schools, the rates or taxes would have to be further burdened with some ;^3, 000,000 a year for the maintenance of the new Board schools erected in lieu of the existing voluntary schools. 10. What is the Diflference in the Positions occupied by the Church of England and the British and Foreign Society School with reference to the School Board System ? Mr. A. Bourne, Secretary to the British and Foreign School Society, in his evidence before the Royal Com- mission upon Education, made substantially the following statements — that the Board school system is more in accordance with the principles of the British and Foreign School Society than any other system, and that there is 2l6 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. very little difference between the working and results of Board and British schools. He said that religious teaching varies in British schools, and must do so accord- ing to the conviction of teachers and managers, and that it is in no instance denominational. British schools are supported by the co-operation of all denominations, and, therefore, the teaching is entirely undenominational. He was in favour of the universal establishment of School Boards because they supplied undenominational schools and exercised compulsion, and he believed that the majority of his committee held the same view. Mr. Bourne said the British and Foreign School Society, nevertheless, still continues to exist because some Boards adopt the secular principle, and some denominational teaching. According to the evidence of Mr. Bourne before the Royal Commission, the committee and the supporters of the British and Foreign School Society can generally obtain in Board schools, at the cost of the ratepayers, all that they want with respect to religious instruction, provided that they can secure the election of a Board which will allow such instruction to be given in its schools. No wonder then that, in some cases, supporters of the British and Foreign School Society, not only make little effort to maintain their own schools, but actually close them with the ulterior view of intro- ducing the School Board system. Religious and Pecuniary Interests which Suppor- ters of British Schools have in the Extension of Board Schools. A most important point to be noted is this. Given t'lat such religious instruction as has been above stated could be secured in Board schools, the whole religious THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 217 programme of the British and Foreign School Society, would actually be embodied in and carried out by the School Board system. This would be done at the expense, in the greater part, of Churchmen as ratepayers. Nonconformists would have to bear but a very small share of the cost. Thus, in such a case, not only would there be religious teaching in Board schools established by statutory powers, but religious teaching of only a certain kind, approved, in most cases, by a mere minority of the ratepayers, and yet in part paid for from the rates by the great majority who object to such teaching. In that case there would be religious instruction satisfactory to Nonconformists established by statutory powers at the expense of Churchmen as ratepayers, while instruction in the Church of England doctrine would be altogether excluded from Board schools. Even if School Boards availed themselves of their utmost liberty under the law to give, in their schools, the largest amount of religious instruction possible, such religious instruction would not meet the wants of Churchmen, neither as to its quantity nor character, while it would amply meet the wants of various religious denominations who at present co-operate in giving indefinite religious teaching in a British school. The very diversity of religious opinions held by the committee of management of a British school renders it impossible for the members to agree upon a programme of religious instruction that would be more satisfactory, to all of them, than may at present be obtained in a Board school, maintained by the rates. Thus it can easily be understood that the supporters of the British and Foreign School Society schools have a religious and pecuniary interest in the extension of Board 2l8 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. schools. This will explain how ready they are in certain places to close their schools, in order to create thereby a deficiency in school accommodation, with the view of bringing in a School Board, and handing over to it their schools, which they had hitherto supported by their voluntary contributions, henceforth to be main- tained by the rates, with precisely the same advan- tages as to religious instruction, secured to themselves under the rates, that they had previously to pay for out of their own pockets. It will be seen that in the elementary education battle of the future, as between the voluntary and School Board systems, the conflict will be waged chiefly between the supporters of Church, Wesleyan and Roman Catholic schools on the one hand, and the advocates of the Board system on the other. The supporters of British and Foreign schools may be regarded as altogether out of the conflict. They are, in fact, more on the side of the School Board than on that of the voluntary system. 11. The Alternative Senses in which Mr. John Morley's Scheme of Free Education has been understood, and reasons why the Electors should vote against it in either sense. Mr. John Morley's Proposals with Reference to Denominational Schools as a Condition of Free Education. On February 21, 1890, a discussion on the subject THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 219 of Free Education took place in the House of Commons. In the course of the debate, and just before the House divided, Mr. John Morley, as one of the chiefs of the Radical party, startled the House by announcing, not only on his own behalf, but on behalf of the party he represents, that in their scheme for free education they would admit the right of certain denominational schools to State recognition and State aid, on condition of their being in future conducted upon strictly denominational lines, and that they should receive as scholars no children but those whose parents belonged to the religious body with which such denominational schools were identified. Mr. Morley referred to Roman Catholic and Jewish schools as illustrating the kind of schools that he meant. He did not, however, in his speech, mention Church of England or Wesleyan schools as being included in the denominational schools of which he spoke. Since then it has been both alleged and denied that his words may be interpreted in that sense. Subsequent statements, however, made by Mr. Morley's political friends would lead to the belief that in what he stated he meant to convey the idea that he would, as a part of his plan of free education, continue the Govern- ment grant to the Church and ail other denominational schools. He would do so, however, on the condition that they received no children as scholars but those whose parents, in the case of Church schools, were members of the Church of England, and, in the case of other schools, belonged to the religious body with which such schools were identified. But whether Mr. Morley meant to extend his toleration and patronage to Jewish and Roman Catholic denominational schools only, or to Church, Wesleyan, and other denominational 220 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. schools as well, his proposed concession to them with its accompanying conditions is, in either case, objectionable in itself; and in its workings would prove to be most obnoxious. I. Supposing, then, that Mr. Morley intends to con- tinue Government grants to Roman Catholic and Jewish denominational schools only, as a part of his scheme of free education, why should such an extraordinary scheme be opposed by the constituencies and electors through- out the kingdom ? 1. Mr. Morley's scheme of free education should be opposed, because to confer such excep- tional and exclusive statutory privileges upon the schools of two religious sections of the public, and at the same time to shut out from such privileges the schools belonging to the Church and other religious bodies, would be a flagrant instance of unjust legislation in favour of the religious opinions of Roman Catholics and Jews ; while it would inflict upon Churchmen and members of other religious bodies civil and religious disabilities solely on the ground of their not belonging to the Roman Catholic or Jewish communion. 2. Mr. Morley's scheme of free education should be opposed, because it would support denominational schools by public money, the educational advantages of which schools would be available only to a com- paratively small proportion of the people. From these schools the children of the poor and the working classes, whose parents were neither Jews nor Roman Catholics, would, in case their parents wished them to attend them, be rigidly excluded. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 221 3. Mr. Morley's scheme of free education should be opposed because it would be an actual selection of Roman Catholic and Jewish elementary schools, out of all other elementary schools in England and Wales, for the receipt of what would be practically an endowment on purely religious grounds, and all this at the expense of the other religious sections of the public, who would have to pay not only for the religious disability thus unjustly inflicted on themselves, but also for special rights and privi- leges denied to themselves but conferred upon two religious bodies of the community. 4. Mr. Morley's scheme of free education should be opposed because it would be openly establishing, by legislation, religious inequality in its most odious, aggravating, and intolerable form; a religious inequality which English parents of other religious bodies would indignantly resent, and against which they would in all probability defiantly rebel. 5. Mr. Morley's scheme of free education should be opposed because it would be a national declara- tion that while in a scheme for free education the religious opinions of Jews and Roman Catholics were entitled to Parliamentary consideration and concession, the religious opinions of Churchmen and Englishmen belonging to other religious bodies were to be treated either as unworthy of Par- liamentary recognition, or as opinions that might be safely treated with deliberate indifference. 6. Mr. Morley's scheme of free education should, apart from the foregoing reasons, be opposed because it is a scheme so entirely contrary to his 2 22 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. hitherto strongly avowed political principles, and the principles of the Radical party, that it must be taken as having an ulterior end in view, and that is, the ultimate extinction of all Church and deno- minational schools other than those selected for special recognition. II. But given that Mr. Morley intends to include in his scheme of free education the continuance of the Government grant to all strictly Church and other rigidly denominational schools belonging to the different religious bodies on these conditions, namely : (i) That no denominational school shall admit scholars but those whose parents are members of the Church of England, or of the particular religious body, as the case may be, to which the school may belong; and (2) that there shall be a free Board school in every parish — why should the electors of the country oppose such a scheme of free education? 1. The electors of the country should oppose it, because such a scheme would unfairly limit the liberty which the trust deeds of all Church and other denominational schools allow to their man- agers ; the fact being that, while these trust deeds reserve the right to managers to communicate reli- gious instruction to all children whose parents do not object to their receiving it, such trust deeds permit, and the Education Act requires, all children to attend the schools subject to the protection of the conscience clause, which exempts them from receiving any reli- gious instruction to which their parents may object. 2. The electors of the country should oppose it because such a scheme would inflict a disabiHty on THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 223 denominational schools, to which they are not now subject, by prohibiting them from receiving children as scholars who now have the legal right to attend them, and do attend them. 3. The electors of the country should oppose it, because such a scheme would inflict civil and religious disability upon parents by taking from them the liberty of choice of the school to which they shall send their children ; by prohibiting them from sending their children to schools of their pre- ference on the grounds that such schools do not belong to the religious body with which they them- selves are identified ; and, further, by leaving them the only alternative of sending their children to free Board schools to which they may conscientiously object, not only because they wish to pay for the education of their children, but because there may be no religious instruction given in such Board school; or, if so, that such instruction may be of a character of which they do not approve. 4. The electors of the country should oppose it because the scheme would involve the expenditure of a large annual amount of public money in the supply and maintenance of schools reserved only for the benefit of a comparatively small part of the population ; admission to, and exclusion from, which would be decided solely by the application of a religious test involving an inquisitorial inquiry as to the religious opinions of parents, the result of which would constitute a qualification or disqualification for their children's admission to the schools. 5. The electors of the country should oppose 2 24 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Mr. Morley*s scheme because it would involve a most vexatious inquisition into the religious opinions of parents of a far more complicated character than the simple taking of a religious census, a proposal to which the Radical party have hitherto strongly objected and which they have strenuously opposed in every possible way. 6. The electors of the country should oppose it, because by the existence of two schools in the same parish, distinguished one from the other by the opposite characteristics of " fee schools " and " free .schools," *' voluntary schools" and *' Board schools," " religious schools " and, possibly, " non- religious schools," an odious and hostile class or caste feeling would be engendered, constituting a chasm of separation between the children attending each school, which it is to be feared would be mutually bridged over only by angry feuds. 7. The electors of the country should oppose it, because inquisition into the religious opinions of parents, for the purpose of ascertaining whether they may send their children to a particular volun- tary school, would not only be an act of odious aggression upon individual religious liberty, but the object sought by such an undue interference with the personal liberty of the subject would be practically unattainable. 8. For instance, what proof would be required from parents calling themselves members of the Church of England, and therefore claiming to send their chil- dren to an elementary Church of England school, to show that they were really members of the Church as THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 225 they claimed to be ? Would it be required of them to produce a certificate of their Baptism, or of their Confirmation, or of their being communicants, or would they have to produce certificates of all three? Then would they be disqualified if they occasionally attended a Dissenting chapel; or, given that the parents had been brought up Dissenters, and so perhaps were neither baptised nor confirmed, but preferred that their children should attend a Church of England school, would Mr. Morley's scheme prohibit them from availing themselves of their preference? Or, suppose parents held general religious opinions, but were unattached to any religious body, and wished their children to attend a Church of England school, would Mr. Morley's scheme allow them to do so ? 9. The electors of the country should oppose it, because Mr. Morley's scheme would emphasise and bring into undue prominence the differences in religious opinions that already exist more or less between Churchmen and Nonconformists, and between Nonconformists and non-religionists in almost every parish, and would engender a chronic state of feud in religious matters amongst those who, though now differing from one another in their religious opinions, are, it is hoped, increasingly becoming more tolerant, large-minded, and large- hearted towards one another with respect to those points on which they so differ. 10. The electors of the country should oppose it, because Mr. Morley's scheme would offer a premium to the spirit of mere sectarian rivalry and p THE EDUCATION BRIEF. proselytism, seeing that those who are opposed to Church schools and wish for their extinction would be unceasing in their efforts to reduce the number of children who attend them, by winning the parents over to their side, while Churchmen would naturally endeavour not only to retain the children already in attendance at their schools, but if possible to increase their number. CHAPTER XIV. STATISTICAL TABLES OP THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT POR 1888-1889, AND THE LESSONS WHICH SUCH TABLES TEACH. L Voluntary Schools. The columns of the following table numbered i, 2, 3, and 4, will show the rapid strides made in the work of providing voluntary schools from 1870 to 1888. The figures within the periods named shewing the number of schools, amount of school accommodation, and average attendance, are all evident facts which tell their own impressive story of how the supporters of voluntary schools throughout the country must have striven to supply the means of public elementary education through- out the length and breadth of the land, instead of leaving the educational ground to be taken possession of by School Boards. These columns will also present the reader with the comparative differences, within the years indicated, of the annual increase in the total income from endowments, voluntary contributions, school- pence, and Government grants, and also the income per scholar in average attend- ance, and the proportionate amount of that income derived from the different sources enumerated, together with the annual cost per scholar in average attendance. 228 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. c/5 O O X o > < > o > I < ON ro ew MW MW m t^ VO ^s O t^ -* CO VO O ON I H -^ o vo' CO ^ ;:^ VO VO t^ ' CO cs' s? o o " o r^ r^ 00 ri H« 1-4N Hre Hrh r^ !0 VO O ^j VO 00 lO CO VO VO o vn eg- CO cT 00 o VO t^* o 00 CO CO cT ^^ o o " O t^ 00 VO ni-r H« ^ vn VO ^s lO ON O lO r*; fO ro rj- eg- (N - vo" vo"^ M VO -' O t^ o N n" "^ s? o o " O T^ ON Hrf nW" Hi- C» VO 00 00 ^s Tj- vn Ov d « O lo CO ►" 00 " 00 CJ 00 VO «o 00 VO lO ON •^ s? o O •^ O o > •5 C *tr 'tr TJ I -i s s :3 5 o > iz; iz; < < C3 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 2 29 II. . Board Schools. The following table shows the increase in school accommodation provided in Board schools since 1870. In the columns numbered i, 2, and 3, the figures show the comparative progress made within the periods named by the School Boards throughout England and Wales in supplementing the existing school accommodation. On comparing tables I. and II. the following facts will be evident : that the total voluntary school accommodation, as will be seen from column 1 of table I. in 1870 pro- vided school places for 1,878,584 children ; but the third line of column 3 will show that in 1888 voluntary school accommodation had increased to 3,547,073 places for school children, showing that between 1870 and 1888 the voluntary schools had provided additional accommo- dation for 1,668,489 scholars ; while table II. column 3, line 3, will show that within the years named the School Board system, with all the unlimited resources of the rates at its disposal, provided school accommodation for only 1,809,481 children. Thus it will be seen, on comparing tables I. and II. that from 1870 to 1888 the additional school accommodation provided by the erection of voluntary and Board schools furnished school places for 3,477,970 children. But the following points of contrast between the volun- tary and Board systems, in the work of supplying school accommodation, must be here specially noticed. The additional voluntary school accommodation provided since 1870 with school places for 1,878,584 children 230 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. has been supplied solely by voluntary contributions with the exception of a comparatively small Govern- ment building grant ; while the school accommodation affording school places for 1,809,481 in Board schools has been provided exclusively from money borrowed on the security of the rates. Up to the ist of April, 1889, School Boards in England and Wales had contracted 7,338 loans, amounting in all to ;^2o,678,877, for which the borough and parochial rates were mortgaged. The repayment of the capital, with the interest thereon, con- stitutes a heavy charge upon the rates of some ;^963,5oo, in addition to the annual amount over ;^3 ,647,000 required to meet the ordinary expenditure of Board schools, inclusive of all the expenses incidental to the administration of the School Board system. The cost of providing school accommodation for each child in a voluntary school has hitherto been at the rate of ;^5 75. per scholar in average attendance, while the cost for providing the same accommodation in a Board school has been JP^\2 \os. per scholar in average attend- ance. In the educational year ending 31st August, 1888, the accommodation in voluntary schools had increased by 33,975 school places, and in Board schools by 43,587 places. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 231 1 M ^ HH VO -w -w r-|« Hs^ VO 10 00 V >^ t^ r^ »0 N Tf 1 s 00 ^ 00 UN 00 00 ^ 00 r^ Ti- 00 1 " " s? N VO »0 O I-" t-T cf VO 00 to N S? O ►-• N C/2 O o u in < Q Q < < U O 232 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Ill Church Schools compared with Voluntary Schools of other Religious Bodies and Board Schools, with respect to Accommodation and Average Attend- ance, 1888. School Accommodation as Provided by the various Religious Bodies and School Boards. The following table shows — that there are 19,328 schools in England and Wales ; that of this number the Church has provided 11,890; Wesleyans 555 ; Roman Catholics 917 ; British, Undenominational and other schools 1,376, and School Boards 4,590. School accommodation has been provided in these schools for 5,385,643 children. Of this total school accom- modation the Church supplies 2,606,886 school places for scholars, as against 212,389 provided by the Wesleyans, 329,481 furnished by Roman Catholics, 410,495 provided by British, Undenominational, and other schools, and 1,826,392 supplied by School Boards. Average Attendance. The average attendance in the various voluntary and Board schools in the school year ending 31st August, 1888 was, as this table further shows : — In Church schools 1,669,222; in Wesleyan 131,069; in Roman Catholic schools 188,572; in British and Unde- nominational schools 255,023; and in Board schools THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 233 1,389,208, making a total average attendance for the year named of 3,633,094. It is to be noted how great is the educational area of the country occupied by voluntary schools as compared with Board schools ; and that, whether we consider school accommodation or school attendance. Church schools almost equal if they do not surpass all other voluntary and Board schools put together. Table III.— SCHOOL ACCOMMODATION AND AVERAGE ATTENDANCE, 1888. Denominations. Number of schools— /.S 0\ t' w 00 On vo ;^ 00 ON '-' * ro 00 ON 00 Tji r;. 00 £ 1 s? 00 ro fO hT U-) CI 10 00^ M ir> vr> t^ t^ c^ cT ^ c< ^i VO ded vJ 1 t^ 1 1 1 CO 1 1 1 1 (U t^ C^ th year r 31, 188 p s? _ i^ >j N '-' ^ vo -dS 2i 8 i i* M VO ON N |Q cq 1 00 VO 00 N l-H ro ^ s? Tt vo !>. N^ "^ vrj ro ^ 00 On „ t^ 00 >3 m N t-N. Ti- vi <^. rtT3 ^ -1 fe iH 00 00 00 ro PL. S >^ •s* W3 W3 . m ON s? fO On in *1 oc ON in 6^ (N '"l- "" ^ ^s C) N lO t^ VO |l| <4 "^ OO 00 in vo CD § i vo 1 in 00 s? 00 '"F § ON ON 1 kT 00 ■* t^ ON ;^ >i t^ t^ M oo 1*2 tf) «o O Tt- 0\ t^ l_l S c4 (3 t^ ro \ in t-» Ph S s? 00^ lO vo vo u o en cT i-T ■^ o" vB o Pk •^ ~0~ ■^ ON 00 u 1 M z t^ ON r^ vo ON vo r^ C« t^ N ^ ^ vo H t^ *£ J^-f, "^ 00^ t^ 0^ Ph w vo" »n tC o" 0? Cs. VO M VO ~ II t3* "FT 00 H 00 CI ON to M •-' CO in CO 00 o t^ t-^ M s? vo ON vo^ ON >g n" in in in 00 vo ■^ y to t-. 'S >i ^ ■^^ g ^. «o* •^ ^ W w t^ ^ !& c4 1 1 1 1 00 oo s? t^ t>. -g m & O! h" a 0) ^i ^^ !^ ""0" ~ih H in «^ « Th 00 m t-» t^ > iH vo in m ^ vo vo o ON ■ •3DUBpU3«B •^* . r^ HW ON col* m < 3§Ba3AB '^ VO "^ H Q ui a^ioiiDs j?d ^ VO ro 00 ^ ON suJoDui JO ajB-^ ^ ^ ^ M ^ ^i ^ N ON in tx ro «o' ^ t^ m i_i VO ^ (N "^ VO 00 H VO ^ t c> in 1 v| 0^ T^ ro tC •^* w in VO N 3 .O* H Ov . ON s ■<1- i-T Q ^s 2 fO ro m a. X 0,' t^ m ON W I1l «^ VO VO ■^ (N 00 00 M s? ^. t^ VO m Th Oi ^ 00 ■ rC rt VO 01 i ^ H „ „ t^ . ^ H rn 00 N t^ 15 \r\ ro tx C/3 ^ 1 t N oo" VO" 1 in ■ . - —J-^ '« ^ • ►xT • • z ^1- •|2 J2 "o J2 • h 13 55 55 i -^ "o < It • "o 1 "5, ^3 i=^-§ ^ 8 <3 1 H 1 i ^ C/2 1 S « t ^ 1 ' 1 242 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. VIII. Abstract of Income of Church of England Schools inspected for Annual Grants between 1st September, 1878, and 81st August, 1888. Column I of the following table shows that the income from endowments has steadily increased between 1878 and 1888, though there has been a decrease in the voluntary contributions within the same period as is shown by column 2. The gradual but marked increase in the income from school-pence is evident from column 3. Column 5 shows how greatly the total income of Church schools from local sources has increased within the ten years named, the total income being ;^i,63o,499 as against ;^i,483,284 in 1879. The income from Government grant in 1888 was ;^i,383,299 as against the Government grant in 1879, which was only ;^i,o29,22i. The total increase from all sources within the ten years was ;^3,oi3,798 as against ;^2,5 12,505 in 1879. The total income of Church schools within the years named was ;^2 7,956,898 derived from the following sources: — ;^i, 303,445 from endowments, ^^5,846,703 from voluntary contributions, ;^8,2 72,935 from school- pence; and from other sources ;2^298,732, making a total income from all local sources of ;^i5,72i,8i5, to which is to be added the total Government grants of ;^i 2, 235,083. Columns 10 and 11 show the number of schools inspected in each year, with the average number of scholars in attendance; THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 243 while columns 8 and 9 show the rates of income and expenditure on behalf of each child in average attend- ance. Table VIII.— INCOME OF CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOLS RECEIVING GRANTS, 1878-1888. From From voluntary contribu- From From Total income From Year ending endow- ment. school- pence. other sources. from local Govern- ment. August 31 sources. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. £ £ £ £ £ £ 1879 . 116,805 599,642 743,180 23,657 1,483,284 1,029,221 1880 . 122,727 587.273 762,162 26,533 1,498,695 1,082,510 18S1 . 126,451 582,382 785,182 31,419 1,525,434 1,133,291 1882 . 126,217 581,180 807,852 30,076 1,545,325 1,144,961 1883 . 131,269 577,314 826,294 28,820 1,563,697 1,203,025 1884 . 133,864 585,072 854,998 29,516 1,603,450 1,234,481 1885 . 134,014 583,936 872,502 31,708 1,622,160 1,315,172 1886 . 133,159 586,951 869,026 33,733 1,622,869 1,344,116 1887 . 138,243 580,872 873,758 33.529 1,626,402 1,365,007 1888 . Total . 140,696 582,081 877,981 29,741 1,630,499 1,383,299 1,303,445 5,846,703 8,272,935 298,732 15,721,815 12,235,083 Rate of Rat eof Average Total income per incon le per Number of number of Year scholar in sch olar schools scholars in ending income. average from local inspected. attendance in August 31 attendance. sou rces. those schools. 7. 8. i ). 10. 11. £ \ £ s. d. £s. d. 1879 . 2,512,505 I I 14 8f I 6i 11,316 1,451,696 1880 . 2,581,205 ! I 14 8 I i| 11,451 1,492,357 1881 . 2,658,725 I 15 3 T 2^ 11,621 1,508,380 1882 . 2,690,286 I 14 9 ig iii ",659 1,552,973 1883 . 2,766,722 I 15 2t 19 loi ",747 1,573,939 1884 . 2,837,931 I 15 I* ig 10 11,808 1,617,242 1885 . 2,937,332 I 15 10^ ig 9I 11,834 1,640,540 1886 . 2,966,985 I 16 4i ig lof 11,824 1,634,637 1887 . 2,991,409 I 16 2.i 19 8i 11,885 1,654,622 1888 . Total . 3,013,798 I 16 2 19 6| 11,878 1,674,434 27,956,898 - - - - 244 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. IX. Abstract of Income of Wesleyan Schools inspected for Annual Grants between 1st September, 1878, and 31st August, 1888. From column lo, line i, it will be seen that the number of Wesleyan schools inspected in 1879 ^^s 578, and the number inspected in 1888 was 553, show- ing a considerable decrease in the number of schools within the period named. But though the number of schools, within that time, shows a decrease in 1888 compared with 1879, it will be seen from column 11 that the number of scholars in average attendance in 1888 was 131,223 against 122,183 in 1879. In considering the income, on looking at column i, we find that the amount from endowments was ;£"646 in 1888 as against ;£(>o^ in 1879, ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ total income from endowments during the ten years was jQs^^S^- Column 2 shows a considerable decrease in the income from vohintary contributions in 1888 compared with 1879. The income in 1888 was ;^i 5,682 from this source as against ;£^i 7,959 in 1879. The total income from voluntary contributions during the ten years, was ;^i6i,i22. Column 3 shows a very great increase in the school-pence in 1888 as compared with 1879, the income from that source in 1888 being ;^io4,4i2 as against ;^94,326 in 1879; the income from school-pence within the ten years being ;^i,oo3,476. The income from other sources is indi- THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 245 cated in column 4, the total amount in the ten years being ^^34,410. The total annual income as set forth in column 5 is ;^i24,iii in 1888 as against ;^ii6,i74 in 1879, making a total income, within the years named, of ;^i, 204,664. Column 6, setting forth the Government grant in each year, shows a decided advance in the income from this source; the grant in 1888 being ;^i 14,001 against ;^9 1,708 in 1879. "^^^ ^^^^1 Government grants to Wesleyan schools, within the years enume- rated, amounted to ;^i, 030,444. If, then, we sum up the figures representing the total income from all sources, as set forth in column 7, we learn that in 1888 the total amount of income was ;^238,ii2 as against ^207,882 in 1879. Column 8 shows the fluctuating rate of income per scholar in average attendance throughout the ten years, while column 9 shows the amount of that income per scholar which was derived exclusively from local sources. 246 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Table IX.— INCOME OF WESLEYAN SCHOOLS RECEIVING GRANTS, 1878-1888. From From voluntary contribu- From From Total income From Year endow- school- other from Govern- ending ment. pence. sources. local ment. Aug. 31. sources. 1. 2. 1 3. 4. 5. 6. £ £ £ £ £ £ ^ol^ ' 603 17,959 94,326 3,286 116,174 91,708 1880 . 433 16,019 94,815 3,579 114,846 93,003 1881 538 15,515 95,689 3,876 115,618 97,087 1882 . 621 15.705 98,676 3,244 118,246 96,787 1883 . 579 15.271 100,237 3,356 "9,443 101,124 1884 . 568 16,802 102,644 3,056 123,070 103,818 1885 . 599 15,935 103,637 3,417 123,588 109,155 i 1886 . 552 15,691 105,119 3.703 125,065 112,097 'l^l • 517 16,543 103,921 3,522 124,503 111,664 1888 . Total . 646 15,682 104 412 3,371 124,111 114,001 5,656 161,122 j 1,003,476 34,410 1,204,664 1 1,030,444 Rate of Rat eof i Average Total income per incora e per Number of number of Year scholar in schc )lar schools scholars in ending income. average from local inspected. attendance in Aug. 31. attendance. sour ces. those schools. 7. 8. 9 10. 11. £ £ s. d. £ s. d. 1879 . 207,882 I 14 3 19 2? 578 122,183 1880 . 207,849 1 13 11^ 18 95 570 122,637 1881 . 212,705 I 15 of 19 li 564 121,466 1882 . 215,033 I 14 2 18 9i 569 126,123 1883 . 220,567 1 15 o| 18 iif 560 126,324 1884 . 226,888 I 15 2i 19 15 558 129,281 1885 . 232,743 1 16 if 19 2 556 129,032 1886 . 237,162 1 16 45 19 2| 556 130,088 1887 . 236,167 1 16 5 19 2 555 129,899 1888 . Total . 238,112 I 16 s\ 18 llf 553 131,223 2,235,108 _ 1 _ - THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 247 Abstract of Income of Roman Catholic Schools Inspected for Annual Grants between 1st September, 1878, and 31st August, 1888. This table with its numbered columns i to 11, maybe considered in the same manner as Table IX. giving as it does information under the headings of the several columns, and in the lines opposite each year supplying particulars of the same specific character with regard to Roman Catholic schools, as those which Table IX. affords with reference to the schools belonging to the Wesleyan body. Table X.— INCOME OF ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS RECEIVING GRANTS, 1878-1888. 248 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Table ^.—continued. Year ending August 31. Total income. 7. Rate of income per scholar in average attendance. 8. Rate of income per scholar from local sources. 9. Number of schools inspected. 10. Average number of scholars in attendance in those schools. 11. 1881 '. 1882 . 1883 . 1884 . 1885 . 1886 . 1887 . 1888 . Total. £ 215,169 223,804 237,381 245,507 250,507 268,601 282,382 298,039 308,087 313,227 £s. d I 10 7I I 10 I I 10 z\ I 10 2^ I 10 8f I II 11^ I 12 6^ I 12 III I 13 25 I 13 31 £s. d. , 16 8J I 738 16 I 1 758 15 io| 790 15 5^ 1 812 15 8^ i 817 16 8 1 828 16 7I 850 16 9I 882 16 8i i 895 16 s\ 909 140,861 149,557 155,676 163,157 163,718 169,115 174,069 179,777 185,493 188,754 2,642,704 - _!_!_[ XI. Abstract of Income of British, Undenomi- national and other Schools inspected for Annual Grants between 1st Sep- tember, 1878, and 31st August, 1888. This table, in columns i to 11, under their different headings, shows the total income of these schools for each specified year, within the period named, and the total amount of income, with the totals derived from each source, from 1878 to 1888. Columns 10 and 11 show the number of schools inspected in each year, with the number of scholars in average attendance. Columns 8 and 9, as in the previous tables, set forth the rate of income per scholar in average attendance, and also the THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 249 proportion of income per scholar forthcoming from local sources. Table XL— INCOME OF BRITISH, UNDENOMINA- TIONAL AND OTHER SCHOOLS RECEIVING GRANTS, 1878-1888. From From voluntary contribu- tions. From From Total income From Year endow- school- other from Govern- ending August 31. ment. pence. sources. local sources. ment. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. £ jC £ £ £ £ 1879 . 14.243 79,263 162,195 5,826 261,527 180,765 1880 15,101 79,484 162,516 6,155 263,256 185,430 1881 15,800 76,751 163,818 6,766 263,135 191,276 1882 . 16,052 75,132 165,630 5,887 262,701 190,386 1883 . 16,896 71,519 168,773 5,935 263,123 194,628 1884 . 17,528 72,979 168,782 5,141 264,430 200,600 1885 . 17,9^5 96,832 170,602 5,529 290,878 209,462 1886 . 17,420 74,694 171,670 6,111 269,895 216,809 1887 . 17,566 78,294 171,698 5,719 273,277 217,447 1888 . Total . 18,461 81,673 171,240 5,583 276,957 219,654 166,982 786,621 1,676,924 58,652 2,689,179 2,006,457 Rate of Rate of Average Total income per income per Number of number of Year scholar in scholar schools scholars in ending income. average from local inspected. attendance in August 31. attendance. sources. those schools. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. £ £s. d. £ s. d 1879 . 442,292 I 15 7^ I I o\ 1,540 253,703 1880 . 448,686 I 15 II I I of 1,521 253,663 1881 454,4" I 16 4f I I I 1,509 253,596 1882 . 453,087 1 16 if I 10^ 1,497 254,137 1883 . 457,751 I 16 3^ I 9i 1,486 255,468 188; . 465,030 X 16 4| I z\ 1,497 259,956 1885 500,340 I 17 5? I io| 1,479 257,190 1886 . 486,704 I 17 lOt I iii 1,447 258,396 1887 . 490,724 I 18 4f I I 4i 1,441 259,603 1888 1 Total . 496,611. 1 I 18 9 117 1,441 26i,cJ35 1 4,695,636 - - " 250 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. XII. Abstract of Income of Board Schools inspected for Annual Grants between 1st September 1878 and 31st August, 1888. This table with its different columns under their separate descriptive and numbered headings, may be studied pre- cisely in the same way as the previous tables. It affords information of much the same kind, with the exception of the additional column showing the income from rates. It will be seen from column 1 1 that there existed a great increase in the number of Board schools in i888 com- pared with the number in 1879 — the number in 1879 being 3,153, while in 1888 it was 4,564. But these are not all newly erected buildings; they include 1,164 voluntary schools of various kinds transferred to School Boards. Column 12 shows the average attendance in Board schools in 1888 as being 1,392,821 against 679,082 in 1879. The two columns to which particular attention is called are No. 4 under the heading of " Rates," and No. 9 under income per scholar in average attendance." The burden upon the rates in support of Board schools, it will be seen from column 4 in 1879, was ;^636,792, while in 1888 the burden upon the rates for the same object was ;^i,23i,787, the total amount raised from the rates directly applied to the maintenance of schools within the years named being ;£9,403,o8o. But the reader, judging from this table only, would be seriously misled as to the total amount THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 25 1 annually chargeable upon the rates for the maintenance of the School Board system. The figures in column 4 show the amounts from the rates that were spent ex- clusively in the maintenance of Board schools. This column gives no information as to the very large mone- tary charge upon the rates to meet the expenditure necessary for the whole School Board system, with its annual repayment of loans, interest thereupon, and the maintenance of its various organisations. For instance in the educational year ending 1888, the amount raised from rates and spent exclusively in the maintenance of Board schools was ;^i, 231, 787, but the various other charges, for purposes which we have enumer- rated, brought up the total sum raised from rates to ;^2,63i,397,* the average rate in the pound having grown from 6,;^ pence in 1883-84 to over 7^. in the pound in 1888, or, including all School Board expenditure from the rates, at the rate of ;^i iSs. 2\d, from the rates for each child in average attendance j and from all sources, at the rate of ;£2> 7^- ^^' P^^ scholar. * Report of Committee of Council on Education, 1888-9, P- 34* 252 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Table XII. -INCOME OF BOARD SCHOOLS RECEIVING GRANTS, 1878-1888. From From voluntary From From Total income Year endow- school- From rates. other from ending ment. contri- butions. pence. sources. local Aug. 31. V sources. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. £ £ £ £ £ £ 1879 • 2,682 2,842 311,124 636,792 15,426 i 968,866 1 1880 . 2,947 1,898 349,262 726,226 18,822 1,099,155 1881 . 3,209 2,260 396,944 738,737 25,918 1,167,068 1882 . 3,314 1,545 441,795 808,121 25,006 1,279,781 1883 . 3,383 1,420 490,571 840,947 25,963 1,362,284 1884 . 3,035 1,603 528,675 915,474 26,036 1,474,823 1885 . 3.433 Ir 562,823 1,140,946 29,934 1,738,028 1886 3,119 661 ! 583,441 1,169,150 34,769 1,791,140 1887 . 3,569 1,321 , 599.822 1,194,900 36,300 1.835,912 1888 . Total . 3,327 576 621,416 1,231,787 40,192 1,897,298 14,614,355 32,018 15,018 4,885,873 9,403,080 278,366 Year From Govern- Total Rate of income per scholar Rate of 1 1 income ' vt„ r , Average No. of scholars in attendance ending Aug. 31. ment. income. in average attend- ance. Irom local sources. inspected. in those schools. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. £ £ £ s. d. £ s.d. 1879 . 430,200 1,399,066 221 I 8 Q 3,153 679,082 1880 . 517,560 1,616,715 220 I 8 2f 3,443 778,771 1881 . 6i9i55o 1,786,618 2 I 7 I 6 II: 3,705 863,639 1882 . 683,110 1,962,891 2 1 6| I 6 11 ■ 3,870 951,896 1883 . 771,950 2,134,234 2 I 4 X 6 if 4,061 1,036,058 1884 . 848,266 2,323,089 2 I 8f I 6 3 4,183 1,121,964 1885 . 965,755 2,703,783 2 5 4i I 8 II 4,301 1,194,727 1886 . 1,047,159 1 2,838,299 350 180 4,414 1,261,616 1887 . 1,120,341 1 2,956,253 2 4 7I I 7 4f 4,493 1,328,348 1888 . Total. 1,195,070 3,092,368 2 4 7l 172! 4,564 1,392,821 8,198,961 i 22,813,31 6 - - - ! - THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 253 XIII. Summary of Incomes of all the Public Elementary Schools, from 1st Sep- tember 1878, to 31st August, 1888. The following table presents us in column 8 with a summary of the total incomes of all the voluntary and Board schools, within the ten years named, as well as the summarised amounts from their various sources of income. It will be seen from the figures in the first line of the different columns under their several headings, recording as they do the total income of Church schools within the period stated, and the sources whence it is derived, how great a share of the work of elementary education is undertaken by the Church of England, and how large is the amount raised from voluntary local sources for the support of her schools. This amount, as is evident from column 6, would otherwise have to be supplied wholly or in the greater part from the rates or taxes, or from both, if voluntary schools ceased to exist. It will also be seen how vastly the voluntary work of the Church overshadows that done by the other religious bodies, and how favourable to the Church is a comparison of her educational work with that of all the other volun- tary and Board schools. Column 4 shows that in addi- tion to the large sums derived from children's pence and Government grant between 1878 and 1888, Board schools actually cost the ratepayers within that period the enormous sum of ;^9,403,o8o, for their maintenance, exclusive of the additional millions required within that 254 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. period from the rates to defray the expense of the organ- isation and administration of the 2,255 School Boards throughout the country. To this may be added the fact that, up to the ist April 1889, 1,807 School Boards had contracted 7,338 loans amounting in all to ;^2 0,6 7 8,8 7 7 7^-. lod, to provide school accommodation for 1,654,061 scholars, at the estimated cost of ;^i2 10^. for each child; and that for the annual repayment of this amount with the interest due thereon, the rates are mortgaged as security, and are annually chargeable. In contrast to these startling facts it may here be stated that between 1870 and 1882, the promoters of voluntary education erected 1,752 schools, with 933 teachers' resid- ences, affording new or improved accommodation for 280,146 scholars, at a cost of, in voluntary contribu- tions, ;j^i,348,i69, aided by a Government grant of ;^3i2,2oo. In addition to all this, they have since 1870, provided 4,806 voluntary schools, with accommodation for 1,388,000 children, at a cost of at least ;2^6,ooo,ooo in voluntar}' contributions, without one farthing of aid derived from the rates. This makes a total provision of school accommodation since 1870 of 6,558 schools, with 1,668,146 school places, at a total cost of ;^7,348,i69, met exclusively by voluntary contributions. The reader can study the columns and tables for himself, and learn to what a great extent the whole of the voluntary — and especially the Church — schools have provided for the education of the children of the country from various local sources, altogether independent of the rates. Total income 8. 00^ M ti. VO m Sj vo" in (n" in fo ^ in m -»t- On h On t W 1^ •J w u 1-1 m o w p^ »— I Q "^ W < N N ro o VO fO o lO 00 N 00 rl- lO Tt- t-* ON Tt 1 ^ ^ r; 00" i a "^ H ^ M VO VO i^ ro rC N cT N ^ % <« vO o\ O N VO ro t^ 00 ON t^ r*- scellane 3. to O <» t^ 1^ O s? 8 VO ro ■i vo" to S "* ro VO t"^ VO t>. g -^ fO O^ •d ^ t^ 00 rf rj- o ro c>> Tj- VO 00 1^ to rt5 00 o^ O^ O^ t>^ ^ 1 Books appara 2. S? to tC ^ VO ^ o ro 00 t>. r^ VO^ -^ VO ro OS to On Tt- O t^ M -^ "^ rj- w* o^ ro Ox ^ Ox VO u 1 « •"• VO m" ro i iH S5 r^ o to VO VO to % ON 00^ 00^ vO^ VO On tn N •-T ro t>. ^ 00 00 oo 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 '•% CO 00 00 00 00 00 00 C 4^ I-" •-< '7' sE An 1 ON ON An I ix t^ x>^ r^ t^ t^ t^ t< 00 00 00 00 00 00 *"* "^ J.^ . ^ • 1 ' • r- 5^ "C • i: s in « i s 3 1 3 2: yj o ^ •s s ■ 1 § 1 H 2 ! It- 'o .v» •^ % 1 o 1 t§ I CO 'o u : 8^1 a V o Q »* -c 1 « .1l tli 1 1 ^ 1 ^ THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 259 XV. Cost of School Maintenance per Scholar in Average Attendance in Voluntary and Board Schools in London and in England and Wales, 1888. The first line of the five columns in the following table shows the cost of school maintenance for each child in average attendance throughout the Board schools in the places indicated by the column headings. The second line gives the cost per child in average attendance in voluntary schools in the different places described by the headings. The four following lines of the five columns indicate the sources from which the income of Board schools is derived, and give the amount of income from each source per scholar in average attendance. The last four Hues of the five columns give the same particulars with reference to the sources of the incomes of voluntary schools and the amount per child in average attendance from each source. It will be seen from the first line of the five columns that the cost of maintenance per child in average attendance in Board schools is highest in London taken by itself, the amount being ;^3 os. 6\d, The next highest amount per child is in England, including London, being ^2 5^. 3^., while the average rate in England and Wales is ^£2 4s. 7j^. Against these Board school figures we may, by way of economical contrast, with satisfaction state that the cost per child in average attendance in voluntary schools, is in London £2 ^s. i|^., and in England and Wales jQi 16s, 4d. 26o THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Table XV.— COST OF SCHOOL MAINTENANCE PER SCHOLAR IN AVERAGE ATTENDANCE IN VOLUN- TARY AND BOARD SCHOOLS IN LONDON, AND IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1888. England England, England, 1 and London. including excluding Wales. 1 1888. Wales. London. London. i 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. ; In Board schools 2 4 l\ 3 6k 253 I 19 II I 17 4 In Voluntary schools . I 16 4 2 4 If I 16 5\ I 15 9f I 14 2I These charges were met in addition to the grant — In Board schools— By the ratepayers . 17 7> I 14 i| 18 8| 12 5^ 12 o\ By the children 8 \x\ 074 090^ 9 7a 7 10 By endowment 05 000^ o| 05 By miscellaneous receipts 007 8f 7i 6j 3 In Voluntary schools — By the subscribers . 067^ 10 0^ 6 7i 6 4I 6 II By the children II 0- 12 7j II 2I II I 8 S\ \ Hy endowment I 5- 3 oj 015* I 3f I 3i i By miscellaneous receipts 4^ Si 4i 004 2 1 XVI. Comprehensive Survey of the Propor- tionate Income and Expenditure, per Scholar, in Voluntary and Board Schools throughout the Chief Towns in England, and also in England and Wales, 1888. In the first part of the following important and com- prehensive statistical table there is presented a complete survey of the income per scholar in average attendance in the voluntary schools, from school-pence, voluntary THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 26 1 contributions, and Government grant ; and in the case of Board schools from school-pence, rates, and Govern- ment grants, as well as the expenditure for salaries and the total expenditure on account for each child in average attendance. The figures in the first four lines of columns i, 2, and 5, under voluntary schools, show the incomes which the Church and other voluntary schools respectively receive per scholar in average attendance, from school-pence, voluntary contributions, and Government grant. The figures in the same lines of columns 3 and 4 give the expenditures per child in average attendance, on account of salaries, and the total expenditure for each scholar. In the twelve following lines we obtain the same particulars of the respective amounts of income and expenditure per scholar in average attendance in the chief towns of England. The last line opposite England and Wales gives us the average income of the voluntary schools throughout England and Wales from the sources named, as well as the expenditure on behalf of each scholar in average attendance. From the same columns, under School Boards, we obtain precisely the same particulars, with the exception that the heading " rates " in Board schools in column 2 is substituted for " voluntary contributions." This table ought to be thoroughly studied by all who are interested in the subject of public elementary education, and will well repay, in the detailed knowledge gained thereby, the time and attention which may be bestowed upon it. 262 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Table XVL— COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY OF THE PRO- PORTIONATE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE PER SCHOLAR IN VOLUNTARY AND BOARD SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT THE CHIEF TOWNS IN ENGLAND AND ALSO IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1888. Income per scholar Expenditure per in average scholar in rt J' " attendance from average attendance J5 bO School- pence. Voluntary contri- butions. For salaries. Total. P4— rt 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. £s. d. Voluntary Schools : £s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £s. d. Church of England ID 6^ 6 iij I 8 8\ I 16 3^ 17 of Wesleyan . . 15 "a 2 4f I 9 5^ I 16 7^ 17 8| Roman Catholic . 9 2I 6 II I 3 7I I 13 5 17 I British and Undeno- ) minational, &c. j' 13 4f 064 I ID 3 I 18 7j 17 5? Birmingham . 10 038 I 4 3l I 12 if 16 iii Bradford 14 3 44 I 6 i\ I 14 7 17 2I Brighton II if 13 3 I II 2 2 3 4l 18 of Bristol .... II I 3 61- I 6 2\ I 14 5i 16 7f Hull .... II 6\ 2 lOi I 6 7'- I 13 4 17 4^ Leeds .... 12 2 5 ll 173? I 14 1O2 17 2 Liverpool 12 7f 2 7I I 5 6 I 13 6, 17 34 London 12 7I 10 03 I 12 81 2 4 if 17 11^ Manchester . 12 7 040 I 5 61 I 15 2| 17 6? Sheffield 13 0- 028 I 5 2 I 12 I- 16 II* Birkenhead . 15 4? 3 8f 174 1 15 74 17 9f Preston 15 I 4 of 189 I 18 7f 19 45 England and Wales II .6 7f I 8 5f I 16 4 17 I Board Schools : Rates. Birmingham. S Sh 18 2 I 13 lol 2 3 95 18 9 Bradford 14 9 13 4 I 16 7f 256 18 8k Brighton 11 sf 16 I 18 ok 2 8 11 19 9I Bristol .... 068 16 8 I 9 o\ I 19 8 17 5 . Hull .... 9 o| 040 I 5 2 I ID 3 : 17 4f Leeds .... 9 II 14 9 I 14 6^ 2 4 18 II Liverpool 13 of 12 II I 15 2| 2 5 8 19 6| London 074 I 14 if 2 8 I 306 18 9f i Manchester . 16 8 II I 10 II 2 4 6i 18 4 Sheffield 12 7 8 ^\ I II lOj 218: 2 4 7i 18 65 England and Wales 8 II : 17 7a I 14 iii 18 i^ THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 263 XVII. Varying School Board Rates in Boroughs and Parishes in England and Wales, 1888. The following table shows the number of boroughs and parishes which paid School Board rates varying from less than id. in the pound to i^. and above ; and the percentage which each class bears to the whole number. Table XVII.— VARYING SCHOOL BOARD RATES IN BOROaOHS AND PARISHES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1888. Equivalent to a rate per £ on the rateable value of the district. England. Boroughs. Ni Parishes. Numbers. Percentage. imbers. Percentage. 00 00 NO 00 00 06 00 H 00 00 M 00 00 Of IS. and above Oigd. and below is. Of 6d. and below gd. Of 7,d. and below ed. Of id. and below -^d. Below id.. Total . . 8 12 37 45 21 8 T2 16 37 49 16 8 12 21 37 43 ^5 12 6-1 9'2 28-2 34-4 i6' 61 8-7 11-6 268 35 '5 II-6 5-8 86 %, 307 10-7 86 142 227 538 649 175 39 140 241 573 624 171 34 158 252 561 634 36 8- 12-8 3o;4 36-7 9-9 2-2 7*9 i3"5 321 35* 9-6 i'9 8-8 14* 31 2 352 8-8 2' 131 138 .0 — 1 170 1783 1709' — 1 - - 264 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. Table XVII. — continued. i Equivalent to a rate per £, on the rateable value of the district. Wa LES. Boroughs. Parishes. Numbers. Percentage. 1 Numbers. Percentage. CX3 00 00 . 00 00 NO 00 f 00 00 00 00 00 00 1 Of IS. and above Of f)d. and below is. 1 Of6^. and below 9-/. Of 3d. and below (>d. Of id. and below 3d. j Below id.. 2 4 8 3 2 3 8 3 2 8 9 2 11-8 23'5 47' 17-7 Il'l 16-7 44-4 16-7 III 42-1 47 4 105 26 51 I 84 ; 18 : 2 34 51 90 84 M 4 40 84 17 7 31' 7 12-3 i8-4 32*5 303 »"4 I4'5 296 303 6j 2'5 1 Total . 17 18 .9 — — — r .77 277 — — — In considering the low School Board rates which are paid in some boroughs and School Board districts, it must be borne in mind that, in numbers of cases, School Boards have been called into existence not to supply school accommodation, but simply for the purpose of securing, through their agencies and officers, the regular attendance of children at the various elementary schools. In such cases School Boards having no schools of their own are not necessitated to impose a rate for school buildings and maintenance. The amount of the rate which they require is simply that which is necessary to keep the organisation of the Board in working order, that is to provide offices, pay stipends to Board clerks and Board inspectors, and generally to carry out the compulsory provisions of the Education Acts. If, however, through increase of the population, or through the closing of any voluntary schools, a deficiency in the school accommodation were created in any given locality, then the ratepayers in that locality would discover that, THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 265 instead of the comparatively low rate for which they are now liable they would have to pay a much larger rate for the building and maintenance of the schools which, in that case, would be required to supply the lacking school accommodation. With reference to the numerous School Board districts in which the rate ranges from 6^. to between is. dd, and 2s, in the ;^, it may be remarked that when the subject of the introduction of School Boards was under discussion in 1870, the ratepayers in these various districts were led to understand, as was generally the impression throughout the country, that the educational rate could scarcely, under any circumstances, exceed 3^. in the pound. Indeed that was the maximum sum per pound that school supply and maintenance by Boards were expected to cost. It has, however, long since been discovered by rate- payers, through the heavy and increasing burden of the School Board rate, that such sanguine and economical calculations were utterly unfounded; and that, instead of having to pay a sum in the pound, probably under as was alleged, but not exceeding 3^., they have now, in some instances to pay between 2s. and 3^. in the jQ, How much higher a rate may yet, in some cases, be levied it is impossible to say. It is evident, however, from facts that have come to light as to the expenditure of School Boards in different districts, that there is no certain limit to their possible outlay in cases where, through absence of voluntary effort and liberality in erecting voluntary schools, the whole responsibility of providing school accommodation rests exclusively with School Boards. CHAPTER XV. STATISTICS OP PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS FROM 1st SEPTEMBER, 1888, TO 31st AUGUST, 1889, AND THE BUDGET OP THE LONDON SCHOOL BOARD POR THE YEAR TO BE ENDED 25th MARCH, 1891. I. Statistics of Public Elementary Schools to 31st August, 1889. The statistics given in the preceding pages are taken from the Government Reports up to August 31, 1888. From the Return of the Education Department, 1890, just issued, the following particulars are extracted with reference to the year ending August 31, 1889. Schools, Accommodation, and Average Attendance. 1. Schools. — Church of England, 11,885; Wesleyan, 556; Roman Catholic, 928 ; British, Undenominational, &c., 1,374: School Board, 4,655. Total number of schools, 19,398. 2. School Accommodation. — Church of England, 2,627,218; Wesleyan, 214,281 ; Roman Catholic, 335,648; THE EDDCATION BRIEF. 267 British, Undenominational, &c., 413,424; School Board, ^>^77j537- Total school accommodation, 5,468,108. 3. Average Attendance. — Church of England, 1,679,490 ; Wesleyan, 132,964; Roman Catholic, 189,902; British, Undenominational, &c., 257,114 ; School Board, i>437)055- Total average attendance, 3,696,525. Income. 1. Church of England. — Endowment,;^i45,o5o; Volun- tary contributions, ;^582,oi8; school-pence, ;^89i,239; other sources, ;^35,2 2 2. Total from local sources, ;^i,653,529. Government grant, ;^i,422,622. Total income, ;^3,076,i5i. Rate per scholar in average attendance, jr^\ i6j. 6f^. ; from local sources, 195. %d, 2. Wesleyan. — Endowment, ;£676; voluntary contribu- tions, ;£i 7,192 ; school-pence, ;£io6,84o ; other sources, £Zj^S^' Total from local sources, ^^i 28,362. Govern- ment grant, ;^i 16,2 17. Total income, ;^244,579. Rate per scholar in average attendance, £,1 16s. gd. ; from local sources, 19^. 3^//. 3. Roman Catholic. — Endowment, ;^2,459 ; voluntary contributions, ;^67,48o ; school pence, ;^89,678 ; other sources, ;^i,4i5. Total from local sources, ;j{^i6i,032. Government grant, ^^160,028. Total income, ;j^32i,o6o. Rate per scholar in average attendance, ;£i 13^. 9^.; from local sources, 16s. 6\d. 4. British^ Undenominatiofial^ &>c. — Endowment, ;^2o,973; voluntary contributions, ;^83, 131 ; school- pence, ;^i7o,288; other sources, ;^5,504. Total from local sources, ;^ 2 79,896. Government grant, ;^2 23,607. Total income, ;^503,503. Rate per scholar in average 268 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. attendance, jQi 185. 8|//. ; from local sources, £1 IS, sld, 5. School Board. — Endowment, £2>A9^ '> voluntary contributions, ;^ 1,039 ; school-pence, ;^645,95i ; rates, ;^i, 229,037 ; other sources, ;^5 0,68 7. Total from local sources, ;^i, 930,210. Government grant, ;^i, 2 57,809 ; income, ;£3, 188,0 19. Rate per scholar in average attendance, £2 45. "jd, ; from local sources, ;^i 6s. lo^d. Expenditure per Child in" Average Attendance. Church of England, £1 16s, s^d. ; Wesleyan, £1 i6s, 6\d.', Roman Catholic, £1 13^-. ii\d.] British, Undenominational, &c., jQi i8x. 6\d,\ School Board, £2 45. e^d, 11. The Budget of the London School Board for 1890-1. Throughout the preceding pages our object has been to show the excellence of the voluntary school system compared with that of School Boards. An important point which has been strongly and re- peatedly insisted upon is the monetary difference between the two systems. It has been maintained that, in addition to other excellences, the voluntary system ensures the lowest expenditure consistently with school efficiency, without any charge upon the rates, while the tendency of the Board system is to reckless extravagance of expenditure, entailing an ever-increasing financial burden upon the ratepayers. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 269 It is a difficult matter to bring these facts forcibly home to the minds of some people, who are not only prejudiced in favour of Board schools, but rashly advocate the doing away with all voluntary schools and the establishment of Board schools in their stead through- out the whole of the country. 1. The Budget Reveals a Great Increase in the Expenditure. If anything were wanting to arouse such people to a sense of the greatly increasing monetary responsibilities and burdens entailed upon the ratepayers by the Board system, it is supplied by the Budget of the London School Board for the year to be ended March 25, 1891. This Budget is a document full of startling revelations to the ratepayers, not only as to the money payments on behalf of the School Board, which must be immediately made on account of the year 1890-1, but also as to the possibilities of indefinitely increasing monetary liabili- ties in the future for the maintenance of Board Schools, to which liabilities at present no limits can be fixed. From the Budget it appears that the expenditure as estimated for the year to be ended March 25, 1891, will be ;^i,888,i8o, as against ;^ 1,7 15,092 in the pre- vious year, and as against ;^i,568,722 in the year which ended on March 25, 1889. 2. How the Expenditure is to be Met. To meet this expenditure it is estimated that the following receipts will be forthcoming — ;^345»ooo from Government grants ; ;^i 20,000 from school pence; and 27Q THE EDUCATION BRIEF. ;^i9,90o from other sources ; making a total of ;£484.90o, and leaving ;^r,403,28o to be met by the rates. In part payment of this amount precepts were issued on January 9, 1890, for the sum of ;^677,i2i, and pre- cepts have since been issued for the payment of the balance, £^26,1^9. This necessitates the levying of a rate of from io\d, to IS. in the pound throughout the different parishes of the Metropolitan district. The people who persisted in fixing the School Board rate at the maximum of 3^. in the pound when the Board system was first introduced, will now find out their mistake. They will also learn that they can no more fix its maximum in the future than they have been able to fix it in the past. 3. How the Money is to be Spent. Of the estimated gross total expenditure of the Board, the largest item is, of course, that put down for the maintenance of day-schools, which is ;^i,253,5oo. This very large item comprehends some particulars of expenditure to which attention may be directed as specially interesting to the ratepayers. It appears that the salaries of the teachers in the year to be ended March 25, 1891, will amount to ;^9o8,ooo as against ;£835,2i7 in the year which ended March 25, 1889. On books, school apparatus and stationery will be ex- pended ;^S 2,500 in the year ending March 25, 1891. as against ;^3 1,6 19 required to provide for the same items in 1888-9. THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 27 1 The amount put down for "Repairs^' in 1 890-1 is ;^7 5,000, notwithstanding that the sum expended for that object in the previous year was ;^76,57i, as against ;^46,985 for 1888-9. For the year ended March 25, 1890, the following are the items of expenditure for each child in average attend- ance : On account of teachers, ;Q2 \qs. 6d. ; books and stationery, &c., 2s. gd. ; ^school keeping and cleaning, 2s. gd ; rates and rents, 4s. ; fuel and light, is. 6d. ; repairs of buildings, 45. 5^. ; pupil teachers, Sd. ; sundries, i^. Sd. ; making a total expenditure of ^^ iSs. 3^. on behalf of each child in average attendance. With, then, a total estimated expenditure of ;^i,888,i8o, of which sum ;^i,253, 500 will be required for the actual maintenance of schools, and necessitating the levying of a rate of from loj^. to li". in the pound, the ratepayers have not a very pleasant prospect in looking forward to the balance-sheet of the London School Board for 1 890-1 and further in anticipating its Budget for 1891-2. Truly School Board expenditure increases with leaps and bounds. What figures in the future may fix its limits it is not possible for the wit of man to say. The rate- payers, however, will be able, from their experience of the upward tendency of their rates, to mark its rapid progress year by year until its increasing heavy burden becomes intolerable, and they cry out loudly for a much needed reform which will ensure a careful expenditure and guarantee economy of outlay with efficiency in education. 272 THE EDUCATION BRIEF. 4. Some Startling Pacts as to Increased Expendi- ture and Eesnlts. Here are facts which of themselves speak volumes against the economical management of the Board : — The Board has borrowed a total sum of ;^8,o32,i58. It has a present debt of ;^7, 248,608, but is still con- tinuing to borrow large sums for the erection of new schools. For the repayment of loans and the interest thereon there will be required for the year to be ended 25th March, 1891, ;^403,oi6 9^. 5^. The expenditure for 1887 was ;^i,ii3 5^. id. in excess of that for 1886 for educating 25,084 additional children. That for 1888 was ;^i 1,835 ^5-^- 4^- ^^^ educating 8,557 additional children. That for 1889 was ;^37,399 lox. 4^. in excess of 1888 for educating 13,916 additional children. That for 1890 was ;^ii5,78i 12s. iod,m excess of 1889 for 3,211 addi- tionil children, and the estimates for 1891 were ;^98,2 58 9^. 5^. in excess of the expenditure of 1890 for educating, as estimated, 3,759 additional children !* The Board has in its schools 420,000 scholars' places. It spent in 1889-90 ;^39,984 in legally compelling parents to send their children to school. Yet it did not secure a greater average attendance than 349,291, or some 82 per cent., leaving over 70,000 children's places vacant in its schools. Every such place has cost the ratepayers at least ;^i2 10^. to provide. * Report of London School Board Meetin^^ Times, June 27, 1890. SYNOPTICAL INDEX. [Note. — The figures in parentheses following a reference, denote the numbers of the columns in the Statistical Tables in which the infor- mation is to be found.'] Accommodation. see School Supply and Accommodation. Board Schools. Voluntary and Board progress in building (1870-1886), 48. Board progress (1870-1886), 49. comparative progress of Church and other Voluntary schools and Board schools (i 870-1 886), 49. cases of York and Salisbury, 58-60. cost of building and maintenance in Voluntary and Board schools, 105, 198, 200. number of, 106. accommodation, attendance, and expenditure (1888), 106. free education in, 108. Voluntary and Board schools contrasted, 197-201. sums borrowed for (1888), 199. rates made for (1888), 199, 200. cost of administration, 200. cases of Croydon and Nottingham, 208. British and Foreign Society schools with respect to religious education, 215-17. interests of supporters of British schools in extension of, 216, 217. statistics of (i 870-1 888), 228-231. ,, schools, accommodation, and average attendance (1888), 234, 235. S 2 74 SYNOPTICAL INDEX. Board Sdhools— (continued). statistics of Parliamentary grants, and rate per scholar in average attendance (1888), 240, 241. ,, Parliamentary grants (i 839-1 888), compared, 234- 237. „ income and sources thereof (1888), 238, 250-2, 259, 260. ,, expenditure (1888), 240, 241, 258-262. „ rate per scholar of income and expenditure (1888), 240, 260, 261. ,, income of (1878-1888), 250-252. ,, cost of maintenance and how met (1888), 259, 260. ,, varying rates made for ( 1888), 263, 264. ,, London, Budget of, for the year to be ended 25th March, 1891, 268-272. Birkenhead. income and expenditure of Voluntary schools in (1888), 262. Birmingham. income and expenditure per scholar of Voluntary and Board schools (i888), 262. Bradford. income and expenditure per scholar for Voluntary and Board schools (1888), 262. Brighton. income and expenditure per scholar of Voluntary and Board schools (1888), 262. Bristol. income and expenditure per scholar of Voluntary and Board schools (1888), 262. British and Foreign School Society. founded in 1808, I. religious teaching undenominational, 8. and Church schools in relation to Board schools with respect to religious education, 216. SYNOPTICAL INDEX. 275 British and Foreign School Society— (continued). supporters of are interested in extension of Board schools, 215- 218. closing their schools and bringing in Boards to supply deficiency, 215-218. and handing over their schools to the Boards, 215-218. British, Undenominational, and other Schools. statistics of schools, accommodation, and average attendance (1888), 232, 233. , , of Parliamentary grants and rate per scholar in aver- age attendance (1888), 234, 235. ,, of Parliamentary grants (1839- 1 888), compared, 235-237. ,, of income and sources thereof (1888), 238, 239. ,, of expenditure ( 1 888), 240, 241. J, of rate per scholar of income and expenditure (1888) 240, 259-262. ,, of income of, receiving grants (1878-1888), 248, 251. Church Extension Association. its right to supply lacking school accommodation, 58, 59. cases of York and Salisbury, 58, 59. its liberty of action sanctioned by the Education Department, 60. cases of Croydon and Nottingham, 208. Boards facilitated the recognition of Church schools as " neces- sary," thereby enabling them to receive Government grant, 208. Church Schools. comparative progress of Church and other Voluntary schools and Board schools ( 1 870-1 886), 49, 50. federation of schools suggested to prevent transfer and maintain their efficiency, 81. periodical conference of managers, 83. religious instruction to receive special attention, 83. steps to avert transfer, 84-87. meeting of Churchmen, 84-87. 2/^6 SYNOPTICAL INDEX. Church Schools— (con fmued). voluntary rate proposed, 85. final precautions against transfer, 86. appeal to Deanery Chapter or Lay and Clerical Conference, 86. final efforts before resorting to transfer, Sy. expenditure (1811-1886) on building and maintenance, 102. increase in number of, 134. systematic and efficient teaching given in, 131, 135. popular fallacies concerning, 187-194. why Churchmen should object to transfers to School Boards, 194-197. why Churchmen should seek to become members of School Boards, 206-208. relative positions of Church and British schools with respect to religious education, 2 15-2 1 8. Mr. John Morley's scheme of free education as applied to, 218- 226. reasons why electors should vote against it, 218-226. statistics of schools, accommodation, and average attendance (1888), 232, 233. „ of Parliamentary grants, and rate per scholar in average attendance (1888), 234, 235. „ of Parliamentary grants (i 839-1 888), compared, 235-237. „ of income and sources thereof (1888), 238-239. „ of expenditure (1888), 240, 241. „ of rate per scholar of income and expenditure (1888), 242, 243, 262. „ of income of Church schools receiving grants (1878- (1878-1888), 242, 243 Conscience Clause. first proposed in 1862, 13, 14. under the Act of 1870, 16, 17. is it honestly and faithfully observed by managers and teachers, 168, 169. Royal Commission failed to find evidence of any violation of it in Voluntary schools, 169-172. SYNOPTICAL INDEX. 277 Conscience OIbmsq— {continued), only proved instance of its violation was in a Board school, 170-172. testimony of dissentient minority of Royal Commissioners to its non- violation in Voluntary schools, 172. conclusion of the Commissioners on the subject, 172, 173. is the clause efficient, 173, 174. any modifications of it ought not to interfere with absolute freedom in communicating religious instruction, 175, 176. Croydon School Board. case of ceding right of supplying school accommodation, 208. facilitated the placing on list for Government grant of school built by the Church Extension Association, 208. Education Acts, 1870 to 1880. First Parliamentary provision for general elementary education, 15. the providing of necessary school accommodation made obligatory, 16. definition of '* elementary school," 16. no definition of '* elementary education," 18. " efficient " and '* suitable " schools defined by Mr. Forster, 19. ** suitability" defined by the instructions to school inspectors, 19. two classes of efficient schools, 20. when school provisions of a district are suitable, 21. how the suitability of individual schools is to be ascertained, 21. School Boards and their statutory powers, 22. school supply explained by Mr. Forster, 23. powers of school supply conferred on School Boards not intended to supersede voluntary efforts in the erection of schools, 24, 30. establishment of School Boards and their powers, 24. powers of the Education Department over School Boards, 25. number of School Boards in 1889, 27. Board schools not intended to have preference over voluntary schools, 28, 30. 2jS SYNOPTICAL INDEX. Education Acts, 1870 to \SSO—{conimued), transfers of voluntary schools tcJ School Boards and re-transfers 29. grants offered in aid of voluntary school extension, 30. summarised chief provisions of the Act of 1870, 31. examinations by diocesan and other inspectors, 32. dissolution of School Boards, 33. school attendance committees, 34, 35. demand and supply of elementary education, 35. Education Code. controls demand and supply of elementary education, 35. how originated, 36. must be laid on the tables of both Houses of Parliament, 36. method of doing so, 37. evidence on the subject before the Royal Commissioners, 38. required reform, 39. the new Code of 1890, 41, 42. educational statutes required, 42, 43. Elementary Education. origin of, was I. Voluntary. originated with private individuals, i. carried on by the British and Foreign School Society and the National Society, i. first government grants, 2. creation of the Education Department, 3. conditions on which grants were given, 3. grants to schools not connected with the two societies, 4. grants for school maintenance, 5. building grants to 1846, 5. number of scholars in 1846, 6. first capitation grants, 6. total bui'ding grants (1839-1860), 7. SYNOPTICAL INDEX. 279 Elementary Education — (continued), 2. BdigiouSj 7* the British and Foreign School Society and the National Society essentially religious in their aims, 7, 8. religious instruction given in their schools, 7, 8. wherein the two societies differed in their religious teaching, 8. Government recognised religious instruction, 9. refusal of grant to a secular school, 9. 3. Denominational^ 10. unsuccessful attempts to found a normal school, 10. the Church left to impart religious instruction, 10. management clauses, 11. conscience clause first proposed in 1862, 13, 14. Statutory and Education Department basis of provisions for supply and control o'", 35. provision for, in 1886, 45-50. elementary schools, 45. training colleges, 46. Elementary Schools. statistics of, in 1886, 45. building grants (1839-1882), 47. voluntary contributions to meet building grants, 47. voluntary contributions for building without grants, 47. voluntary and Board progress in building, 1870 to 1886, 48. "public elementary," and "efficient and suitable," 6^. statistics of, from ist September, 1888, to 31st August, 1889, 265-268. Endowments. all public elementary schools (1888), 238, 239 (i). Church schools receiving grants, 1878-1888, 242, 243 (i). Wesley an schools, 244-246 (i). Roman Catholic schools, 247, 248 (i). British, Undenominational and other schools, 248, 249 (i). Board schools, 250-252 (i). all public elementary schools (1878-1888), 253-255, 260 (i). 28o SYNOPTICAL INDEX. Expenditure. public elementary schools (1888), compared, 240, 241, 256-258. (1878-1888), 256-258. Federation of Church Schools. a means of preventing transfer to School Boards, and of main- taining their efficiency, 81. vigilance committees to reply to misstatements on the platform, in the press, or in Parliament, 82. suggestions for maintenance, 85. common fund should be formed, 82, S^. periodical conferences of managers, 83. religious instruction to receive special attention, 83. proposed statutory or code alterations to be scrutinised, 83, special steps to avert transfer, 84, 85. meeting of Churchmen, 84, 85. resolutions to assist, 85. voluntary rate suggested, 85. final precautions against transfer, 86, Sy, appeal to the Deanery Chapter or Lay and Clerical Con- ferences, 86. final efforts before restorting to transfer, Sy. notification to bishop and archdeacon, 87. Free Education. by whom demanded, 88-90. certain fees are paid by Guardians of Poor, 89. should be provided by the State when parents unable to pay, 89. limits to, 91. abolition of income from school-pence, 92, 93. how deficiency of income proposed to be supplied, 93, 94, 105. in any case the rights of Churchmen as to management and religious teaching must remain intact, 98, 99, 214. possible breach of trust by Government interference, 99. inaccuracy of phrase, 106, in Board schools only, 108. SYNOPTICAL INDEX. 281 Free 'Ed\iQB,tion—{conh'nued). in all schools, 109. declaration of the Government on the subject, 115. Mr. John Morley's scheme, 218-226. reasons why electors should vote against it, 220. Government Grant. first made towards school buildings in 1833, 2. exclusively on recommendation of the two educational societies, 2. increased in 1839, 3. conditions of, 3, 4. first made towards school maintenance in 1846, 5. amount of, 5. total for building (1839-1860), 7. religious instruction an essential condition of, 9, first made for general elementary education, in 1870, 15. towards school building and maintenance to 1863, 45, 46, 47, 48. to training colleges up to 1863, 46. to all schools, and rate per scholar in average attendance (1888), 234, 235, 260-262 (5). to all schools, 1839-1888, 235-237. to all public elementary schools (1888), 238, 239 (6). Church schools receiving (i 878-1 888), 242, 243 (6). Wesleyan schools „ „ 244-246 (6). Roman Catholic schools „ 247, 248 (6). British, denominational, and other schools, receiving (1878- 1888), 248, 249 (6). all public elementary schools (1878-1888), 253-255 (7). Hull. income and expenditure per scholar of voluntary and Board schools (1888), 262. Income. public elementary schools (1888), 238, 239. „ „ and sources thereof (1888), 238-239, 253-255, 260-262. 282 SYNOPTICAL INDEX. Income — {continued) Church schools receiving grants (1878- 1888), 242, 243. Wesleyan schools ,, ,, 244, 245. Roman Catholic schools „ ,, 247, 248. British, undenominational, and other schools, receiving grants (1887), 248, 249. Board schools „ ,, 250, 252. All public elementary schools (1878-1888), 253-255. Jewish Schools. free education in, as proposed by Mr. John Morley, 219. reasons why electors should vote against it, 220-224. Kilburn Sisters. right to supply lacking school accommodation, 59. cases of York and Salisbury, 58, 59. school built by them supplies intentionally created deficiency, and is approved of by the Government, 59. consequent grievance of Church opponents, 59. action of the Sisters sanctioned by the Education Department, 60. Leeds. income and expenditure of Voluntary and Board schools (1888), 262. Liverpool. income and expenditure of Voluntary and Board schools (1888), 262. Local Sources of Income of Church of England schools receiving grants (1878- 1888), 242, 243 (5)- Wesleyan schools receiving grants (1887-1888), 244, 246 (5). Roman Catholic schools ,, ,, 247, 248 (5). British and undenominational and other schools receiving grants (1887-1888), 248, 249 (5). Board schools receiving grants, 250, 252 (6). all public elementary schools (1878-1888), 253-257 (6). SYNOPTICAL INDEX. 283 London. Board Schools. cost of, contrasted with that of London voluntary schools, 198, 199, 259, 260. cost of administration, 198, 199. maintenance and how met (1888), 259, 260. London School Board Budget for the year to be ended 25th March, 1891. Volu7itary Schools, income and expenditure of, 198, 199, 259, 260. Maintenance. cost of per child in average attendance in Voluntary and Board schools in London, England and Wales (1888), 259, 260. Management Clauses. first proposed in 1847, il. object was to secure for lay subscribers a share in manage- ment, II, 12. helped to strengthen the denominational system, 12, 13. Manchester. income and expenditure of Voluntary and Board Schools (1888), 260-262. National Society. founded in 181 1, I. carried on and extended the whole elementary education of the country, i, 2. first called the attention of the State to the importance of the subject, 2. obtained in 1833 the first Parliamentary grants towards build- ing, 2, 3. grants made upon its reports, 3, 4. increase of the Society's schools in 1846, 6. religious teaching was denominational, 8, 10. represented the Church of England in the work of elementary education, 8. 284 SYNOPTICAL INDEX. National BoQiQtj— {continued). its educational work led to the State making grants on the condition of religious instruction being an essential part of elementary education, 7, 8, 9. management clauses proposed by the State, 11-13. New Education Code for 1890. audit and inspection of voluntary school accoimts, 1 1 1 . non-residential day training colleges, 121. Nottingham School Board. case of ceding right of supplying school accommodation, 207, 208. facilitated the placing on list for Government grant of school built by the Church Extension Association, 207-208. Parliamentary Grant. see Government grant. Preston. income and expenditure of voluntary schools in 1888, 260-262. Rates paid to Board schools (1888), 238, 239 (2), 260. Board schools (1878-1888), 250, 252 (4). varying School Board rates in boroughs and parishes (1888) 263-265. Religious and Moral Training. ceased in 1870 to be a condition of Government maintenance grant, 122. present law as to, in voluntary elementary schools, 122, 123. and in Board schools, 124, 125. as given in Voluntary and Board schools contrasted, 125, 127. is the country in favour of it in elementary schools, 128, 129. dispensed with by only a few Boards on their own responsi- bility, 129. returns on the subject made to Royal Commission, 130, 131. provision for in Church schools superior to that in all other voluntary schools, 1 31-133. SYNOPTICAL INDEX. 285 Religious and Moral ^v^inin^— {continued). in Church schools testified to by the dissentient minority of the Royal Commission, 133-135. value of has greatly increased since 1 870, 134, 135. is arbitrary and imcertain in Board schools, 135, 136. conclusion of the Royal Commissioners, 136, 137. they hope Board schools will rise to a higher standard in, 137. precautions by Education Department to guard against the erroneous impression that the State discourages religious teaching in elementary schools, 138. in Voluntary schools is not paid for by Government grant, while in Board schools it is paid for by Board rate, 139-141. testimony of Royal Commissioners on the subject, 140. is necessary to the individual, 142. is necessary to society, 143. is necessary between employer and employed, 143. has always been an essential part of English education, 144, result of non-education in religious truths, 145. some representative opponents of, 146. did not in their evidence represent the wishes of the English people, 147-148. evidence as to the great value which parents attach to religious instruction being given to their children in day-schools, 148. replies to questions sent out on the subject, 148. Boards rejecting religious instruction are generally elected on strict political lines, 149. objectors allege that it may be efHciently obtained from other sources, 149, 150. could religious teaching of children be safely left to parents, 150, 151. can be given effectively only by trained teachers, 151, 152. could it not be given by the various religious bodies, 153, 154- on Sunday afternoons in Church, 154. best method of instruction is catechetical, 155. recourse to formularies by bodies outside the Church, 156. misrepresentation of the Church catechism, 157. influence upon society by the truths set forth in the baptismal covenant, 158, 159. 286 SYNOPTICAL INDEX. Religious and Moral TraiDhig^confmuea). fusion of different classes of society by the Church's religious teaching, 1 59-161. Apostles' Creed as supplying the simplest possible form of belief, 161, 162. teaching and influence of the Lord's Prayer, 162, 163. influence of the Ten Commandments on English law, 163-165. influence on the public life of England by the Church's incul- cation of duty, 165-167. findings of the Royal Commissioners, 182-186. Boards are State constituted authorities over religious instruc- tion given in their schools, 208-212. different positions of Church and British and Foreign schools towards Board schools, 215, 216. interest of supporters of British schools in extension of Board schools, 216-218. Roman Catholic Schools. comparative progress (1870 to 1886), 50. free education in, as proposed by Mr. John Morley, 219. reasons why electors should vote against it, 220-222. statistics of schools, accommodation, and average attendance (1888), 232, 233. „ of Parliamentary grants and rate per scholar in average attendance (1888), 234, 235. ,, of Parliamentary grants (i 839-1 888) compared, 235-237- ,, of income and sources thereof (1888), 238, 239. of expenditure (1888), 240, 241. ,, of rate per scholar of income and expenditure (1888), 240, 241, 247, 248. „ of income of, receiving grants (1878- 1 880), 247, 248. Royal Commission on Elementary Education. a thoroughly representative body, 178. their findings and recommendations on the following subjects : — supply of schools, 179, 80. school management, 181. training colleges, 181. religious and moral training, 182-186. SYNOPTICAL INDEX. 287 Salisbury School Board- case of providing school accommodation, 58, 59. ceded its right of supply to the Church Extension Association, 58. 59. this course sanctioned by the Education Department and approved of by the Government, 59, 60. School Accommodation and Supply. proportion of population requiring, 51. how necessary extent of, ascertained, 52. at present sufficient, and in some localities more than sufficient, 53. by v