COUNTY EDUCATION.* IT is not very long ago since our

English Education was pro- nounced, in one of the Reports of the School Commissioners, to be "a chaos" and not "a system." Some progress has of late doubtless been made, yet much remains to be done before any- thing like a perfect system of educational organisation can be said to have been reached. Elementary instruction has gained, and is likely to keep for some time to come, a prominent place in public attention. But the education of the working-classes, vastly im-

• County Education : a Contribution of E • reriments. Estimates, and Suggestions. By

the Rev. J. L. Brereton. London : Bick is and Son. portant as it undoubtedly is, is not the only portion of our system of public instruction which ought to monopolise the title of "national," and with much less justice can that term be claimed for our higher education, as represented by the Public Schools and Universities. We speak, it is true, of our " National " Schools, and our " National " Universities. But certainly no system can be truly national which ignores almost entirely the whole region intermediate between the primary schools on the one hand, and the Universities on the other. Yet hitherto it must be granted that public attention and encouragement has been almost solely lavished upon the education of the two extremes of society ; and middle-class instruction, though certainly of no less national importance, has been treated as of altogether minor consequence. Of late, however, there have been indications of sounder and more hopeful views. Notwithstanding the tempo- rary check which the cause of secondary education appeared to encounter at the hands of the Government in the last Session of Parliament, yet the subsequent surrender of a reactionary policy made it evident that the country would not readily reject the advantages of a scheme which should not only place secondary education within the reach of the children of the middle-class, but also of those of the poor whose industry and intelligence in the elementary school had entitled them to advancement.

It is the object of the book whose title heads this article, to show how secondary education may best be extended, and espe- cially how the various existing institutions and experiments may be brought into an effective and comprehensive system. Canon Brereton is no mere doctrinaire reformer, but has long been known as a most successful and energetic promoter of county schools. The County School, in fact, is the backbone of his scheme of middle-class education. At the outset of his brochure he very truly says :—

" If I were asked to pick out the midmost man in England, I should be disposed to point my finger at a farmer occupying between 200 acres and 300 acres. There is a man whose place is about equi-distant from the two extremes of English society. His relations and dealings, domestic and public, connect him in a very direct manner with every other class, implying much mutual obligation and respect. The educa- tion which that man has received, or can procure for his son, would seem to me the true measure of general English education. If an improved education above, and an extended education below, are the only movements of his time, they are to him not so much ineffective as injurious influences. He becomes isolated ; he is embarrassed in his necessary dealings with those above, below, and around him ; he feels, or fancies, that the gentleman treads scornfully on his toes, while the labourer kicks insolently his heels. What wonder if he should become servile or tyrannical from annoyance, though he be manly and generous by nature ? What he wants is, not to be drawn upwards or downwards out of his station, but to have an education suitable to that station ; one, therefore, that will be in harmonious relation with that of other classes."

To any one at all conversant with the economy of village life in England, it must be plain that these sentences indicate not only a possible, but actually existing condition of affairs. The agricultural-labour question has at least made that quite plain. And although, perhaps, there may be some who would consider that the determined and successful stand made by the farmers in the Eastern Counties last year against the Labourers' Union gave evidence rather of educated intelligence than of the reverse, we cannot share in that opinion. The one sound idea of which the conflict has been productive we have always held to have been this,—that landlord, farmer, and labourer alike learnt that in future they must be satisfied to buy and sell in open market, without the interference of sentimental theories of either grati- tude or natural price. But it was not for this idea that the farmers fought. Yet, apart from this, the only victory that they can be said to have won has been one the fruits of which will be reaped chiefly by the emigration agents of Canada or Australia. Of the narrow-minded view of this element of rural life there is unhappily no dearth of evidence. It was from the narrow- mindedness, or at least from the narrow sagacity, of the farmer clans that Lord Sandon drew his inspiration, when he succeeded in passing last Session the reactionary measure by which the standard of examination for pauper children was reduced from the fifth to the third standard, thus taking them off the rates before they have received any sort of education worth having. It is that same element which has been the main support of the rural clergy in their almost unanimous objection to the establish- ment of school-boards in country parishes, and made possible such an advertisement as the following, which we take from the columns of an ecclesiastical contemporary :- " SCHOOL BOARD, to AVOID, an Incumbent wants £100.

Address " Vicar," care of —, &c..

To the ignorant hostility of the same class may be traced the difficulty of Sanitary Reform in the rural districts, and the fact that in very many cases the late Public Health Acts have been reduced simply to a dead-letter.

In face of these facts we cannot but think that if Canon Brereton should succeed in becoming the education reformer of the farming- class in England, be will indeed have deserved well of his country. It is true that the system which he is anxious to see established is one that would meet the educational requirements generally of the middle-class, rather than of any special section of that class. Yet at the same time it will be evident from the above quotation that he very justly perceives that the farming-class do represent that section of the middle-class whose requirements furnish the fairest estimate of the kind of school which would best meet the wants of a genuine middle-class family. " The average income," he estimates, "of such a farmer would be about £200, and we may assume that a boarding-school in which the cost would range much above 30 guineas, or a day school where the fees should exceed £8, would be out of his reach."

After working for some ten or twelve years at the problem of how to establish such a school, Canon Brereton considers that he has found a satisfactory solution. The scheme of the Devon county school was originated by him a dozen years ago, and although it was at first started without any definite estimate of cost, the school has throughout been conducted with a desire to keep the charges down, and yet to pay a dividend to the share- holders after defraying every necessary and incidental cost. The accounts of the past ten years Canon Brereton thinks are enough to prove that an allowance of 18 guineas per boy for board, 6 guineas for tuition, and 7 guineas for gross interest on capital, are reasonable estimates of what a charge of 31 guineas will allow :—

" The gross capital •outlay on the Devon County School, in which there are 120 boarders, and which may be considered full at that number, has been £10,783, of which £466 has been spent on land, 46,250 on buildings, £2,233 on furniture, and £1,834 on the cost of .carrying on the preliminary school from 1858 to 1864, when the numbers began to rise above 50 and the school became self-supporting. This item, which is being paid off out of revenue, need not be considered as part of the permanent capital. The outlay on furniture also includes all repairs and additions, and has, in fact, been reduced in the balance- sheet to £974, by an annual depreciation charge of 10 per cent. I believe, therefore, that the capital expenditure of the Devon County School should be stated at £9,000, or £75 per boy."

In the, Norfolk County School, which was opened last year, of the governing body of which Canon Brereton is also chairman, the cost of the mere building has been brought down to £8,000 for 260 boarders, or £30 per boy, leaving it possible to keep the total capital down to £50. With regard to the range of studies which a County School might be expected to embrace, Canon Brereton is of opinion that the general plan may with advantage be regulated by the University Local Examinations. At the same time, these examinations should be made sufficiently comprehensive to offer an ample selection of studies, whether for classes or in- dividuals. It is a question of some importance with regard, more directly, to the farming-class, whether special technical training in agriculture should be attempted at school. Although, no doubt, Canon Brereton is right in uttering the caution that a school or college in which agriculture is the main subject of instruction, and others are made subordinate, is very likely to sacrifice the man to the métier, with ultimate detriment to both, yet we certainly think that a good County School should include in its general course of studies some special instruction in the elements at least of that science which is essential to the after-success of the farmer. How enormous is the waste which at present many farmers suffer to go on, not, we may be sure, from intentional carelessness, but from ignorance of facts which ought now-a-days to be the common maxim of their trade, is evident to any one who has any experi- ence of agricultural economy. But techniCal training, and some

knowledge at least of the principles of agricultural chemistry, must necessarily precede the exhibition of economy of the re-- quired kind. And this knowledge and training we certainly are of opinion may best be gained during school-life. And here we entirely sympathise with Canon Brereton in considering that,— "For the education of a great country to take for granted the non- scientific character of an occupation, in conducting which the most numerous, and not the least influential class above the industrial, are directly engaged, is not reasonable. Of education and agriculture it may be said that they are both sciences, of teaching and farming that they are both arts, the principles and rules of which may be learnt systematically. How to select and regulate the productive forces of nature so that man may benefit by the increase, is an object that must ever invite and reward man's highest efforts of mind and will ; and to prepare the mind and will of the boy for the after-efforts of the man is the proper object, and should be the practical work of education."

We have not space to enter into anything like a detailed criticism of Canon Brereton's scheme for the organisation of a complete and comprehensive system of middle-class education. The main features, however, we may, in conclusion, briefly summarise.

In the first instance, he would establish or recognise within every union (the boundaries having been revised for this and other purposes) schools suitable to those who are able and willing to pay for a somewhat higher education than that provided by the elementary schools. These would have the status of third- grade middle-schools, and would have the object of bring- ing the advantages of a public - school education within the reach of the smaller farmers, tradesmen, and artisans. The cost to parents would be about fifteen guineas per annum. For the class above these he would establish or recog- nise within every average county (or united counties) schools suitable to those who are able and willing to give their children an education continued to the age of sixteen, and rising to the standard of the University Junior Local Examinations. These would have the status of second-grade schools. The Devon County School would be an example of this class, the annual estimated charge to parents being about thirty-two guineas. Superior again to this class, he would establish in each division of three or more associated counties, schools suitable to those whose education may be continued to eighteen, and rising to the standard of the Senior Local Examinations. These would have the status of first-grade schools, and would bear an estimated annual charge to parents of £52.

These first-grade schools he would connect with the Universi- ties, not only through the medium of examinations, but directly by the establishment of County Colleges within the Universities. Such a college would serve to increase the value of the local ex- aminations by connecting them with collegiate residence ; would give facilities for obtaining an early and inexpensive degree ; would raise the standard and increase the supply of masters for elemen- tary schools ; would give special preparation for various branches of professional and practical life ; and especially would provide one or more institutions through which many wasted and worth- less endowments may be made available for modern requirements and combined into an effective system. Having thus distributed the third-grade schools through unions, the second grade through counties, and the first grade through divisions of three or more counties, he would provide for the general government and administration in the following manner :—

" Instead of one educational council in London, four provincial councils, each connected with a University, should group the middle- classes, with the secondary schools and examinations, into a northern, southern, eastern, and western system. That subordinate to these pro- vinces, the counties, boroughs, and unions of parishes should each become educational areas ; and lastly, that the administration of the endowed property should be conducted more and more on commercial principles, the capital being embarked in the business of education, and the accruing profits assigned so as to advance education as a whole, and while paying due regard to founders' special intentions, to ensure that their combined benefactions shall confer progressive benefit on the nation at large."

We strongly recommend Canon Brereton's book to the atten- tion of those who are desirous of seeing the middle-class and secondary education of the counties reduced to something like an effective and comprehensive system.