16 SEPTEMBER 1837, Page 18

he considers their supercession beneficial ; because the education

this very interesting statement; where was the visit made, Mr. White? " and British Schools : for the monitors are very little in advance of " Even here, Sir," replied Mr. White, solemnly ; " here, since I have been the boys, often not at all; and if they were, they are deficient in " The Majesty that I speak of, Sir," replied Mr. White, " is the King of exercise : according to the evidence collected in the essay, the Heaven and the Lord of Hosts." class are often in fact the fags of the monitor, and unless he is " What other could it be " exclaimed Mr. Cartwright, showing the whites propitiated by services or presents of apples and so forth, he con- of his eyes, and appearing scandalised at the blunder. plains against the defaulters and gets them " wopped." The eon- " I wonder, Mr. Cartwright," said a young man of decidedly pious propen- elusion the author draws from the whole inquiry is, that the eities, but not as yet considering himself quite assured of his election, " I wonder, Mr. Cartwright, whether I shall be saved or not?" common dame schools, bad as they are, are frequently better than ." I..; is a most interesting question, my young fi icrol," replied the Vicar the schools supported by charitable subscriptions; and that num- madly ; and you really cannot pay too much attention to it. I am happy to bers of the children taught in these last have been subsequently see that it leaves you not even at the festive board ; and I sincerely hope it will indebted to private schools for what they know. finally be settled to your satisfaction. But as yet it is impossible to decide." The general conclusions we have stated are expanded at some " i shall not fail to ride over to hear you preach, excellent Mr. Cartwright !" 'said a gentleman of the neighboui hood, who, though not hitherto enrolled in length in the pamphlet, and supported by a variety of facts set Evangelical calendar, was so struck on the present occasion with the hospi- table entertainment he received, that be determined to cultivate the acquaint- we take a few instances ; choosing them more, however, for ance. the picture they give of the life of the poorer classes, and for the " You do me great honour, Sir," replied the Vicar. o If you do, I hope it sort of biographical interest they possess, than for any light they will be on a day when you can stay supper with us." "You are excessively kind, my dear Sir," answered the guest; " but as my throw on the state of education, or support they furnish to the hat you dine, it woulde be aornewhat lateu beforee I got home." Benjamin Humphries, aged fourteen, 4, Crown Street, West Street. Is

Mr. Cartwright bowed, dropped his eyes, and said nothing. looking out for a place; assists his father in selling oysters and sweetmeats la " Oh, Sir !" said Mr. Hetherington, who, though he had drunk more than the streets. Wears a charity uniform ; went to St. Sepulchre's Charity-school, any man at table, excepting the cousin Corbold, had as yet in no degree lost hie Giltspur Street, for seven years ; made very little progress in either reading, apprehension, " Oh, Sir !- You quite mistake : the supper that the excellent writing, or arithmetic. His father was obliged to engage a young man to teach

Mr. Cartwright means is to he taken at the table of the Lord." him of-an evening, in order to bring hint a little forward. Used to receive asuit " Dear me! " exclaimed the squire, who really meant to be both civil and of clothes from the school, and two pails of shoes every year. The master will He was

" There is nothing sad but sin, Mr. Wilkins," replied the Vicar meekly. particular with the Catechism, because the boys were sometimes examined in it

"'What heavenly-minded humility there is in Mr. Cartwright !" said Mr. Examined the father of the same lad ; who confirmed the above statement. Hetherington, in a loud whisper to his neighbour : " every day he lives seems Said he bad a lodger, a lad of eighteen, who was six years at the same school, to elevate my idea of his character. is not this claret admirable, Mr. Dick- and did not know lodger, letters. Had complained, in the ease of his own sea, of ale " the conduct of the schoolmaster in , but without effect: be had a friend the

to exist, the author replies, that, economically speaking, it matters it would be drawn in both cases from the same class of persons,

To,sorer. He ( Humphries) sent one of his sons to a Lancasterian school, but At be did not make sufficient progress in reading with lessons pasted on boards. Sends him now to a :school in Shoe Lane, where lie gets on faster. Mem. inquired generally in the neighbourhood, and met with many persons • • who are of opinion the children are neglected. John Day, aged fourteen, Turnmill Street, St. John Street. Has no rela- tions whatsoever : father, mother, uncles, aunts, all dead. Was once in Saffron Hill workhouse. Cannot read and write. Now supports himself.

Earns about five shillings per week. Gets one shilling and sixpence on Mondays, and one shilling on Fridays, by helping the salesmen in Smithfield Market; during the rest of the week gets occasional employment in making • • • children's detonating crackers. Henry Abrahams, 6, Coppice Row, Clerkenwell, age fifteen. Is a self-taught

attist. Gets his living by making sketches of houses, chiefly public-houses. Charzes from two shillings and sixpence to live shillings each. Is not aide to draw figures or trees. Went to a school in Clerkenwell Square for four years, but thinks he learned more from his mother than he gained at school. She taught him to teal before he was five years old : was not taught drawing at school. made no progress in arithm ,Itic there. Never could understand the mode of working questions by figures. Used often to get thrashed for it. Says he often lies in bed of a morning and works difficult sums in his head in his own WI • Is clever in mental calculation ; a sharp lad, possessing superior talents, but too badly educated to turn them to a proper account.

William Johnson, age fifteen. An orphan, has no brothers nor sisters. His

father was a jobbing carpenter, who died a twelvemonth ago. Gets his living by holding gentlemen's horses and helping omnibus-cads, chiefly at the Bank. Sometimes earns as much as one shilling and sixpence in a day ; sometimes nothing. Enned nothing last Friday, and seldom gets any thing on Sundays. Has now only fourpence in his pocket ; this he will have to pay for a bed. Sleeps sometimes at one lodging-house and sometimes at another ; chiefly at one in Mitre Court, Barbican; sleeps there in a large room, in which there are a matter of two dozen beds ! A great number of men and boys sleep in the room; e:rh has to pay fourpence a night: in the morning they are allowed towel and soap, with a tub of water. Gets his dinner at cheap cook-shops; generally buys two pennyworth of beef-soup, with a ha'p'orth of potatoes and a ha'p'orth of bread. Buys; his breakfast of the people who sell tea and coffee in the streets, at twopence a pint, and bread and butter at a halfpenny a slice. Cannot read and write; went once to a Sunday-school, at u chapel in Barbican, fur a few months, when his father was alive ; but did not make any progress. is

not able to read a chapter in the New Testament. • John Davis, age ten, 2, Fox Court Earl Street, Seven Dials. Stands with

basket in Covent Garden Market, and sells poultry; earns from 3s. to 20s. per seek; sells most on Saturday, when he carries his basket round to private families ; has sometimes sold three dozen fowls on a Saturday. Says, "his right father is dead," but that be has now another. who set him to work when he was seven years old. The basket was then carried for him to Covent Garden, and he aras left with it to sell the stock. His present father buys the poultry at Leadenhall, and sells poultry himself. 11,, says he cannot read and write, but ha- just commenced going to a Sunday-school in George Stre.tr, where he will learn to real and spell. Writing is nat. taught there. llis "right father" was ti goo! scholar, but his pro,:nt father cannot read and write.

Ja!al Holmes, age fifteen, 16, Sou Street, Church Street, Bethnal Green.

bur at of work, father a weavor. I I.04 had several places. chiefly connected ring;gfla arc: iiveoiced .ts pre week at his last place, without board. C uoat of and write. Wen, 1.r it !.t•ar and a half to a Sundae-school in

hunger Attendisl r..e . ! • tit•q! his master was one of the teacher-,

awl rover n.■,ed nwrai:.„7 3E! ; was in the smond case; used to learn

sydl awl to read a little in li • • i ; cannot now read a chapter iu the

New Te.t:docut ; was not taugi:t t , • ite.

Thinhing that, in the reent condition of the public. mind and

the nicely-balanced state ol parties, a general education bill would not pas, the Lords, whilst there is the possible danger that tho Tories uliOit sciza upun a comprehensive measure for a Mend de &duffle in the ubsenee of any thing better, our author proposes rather to improve than to reform : and for this purpose he says—

Ministers have the power in their own hands, assisted by a simple vote of the Rouse of Coinmons, of extending indefinitely the number of schools, and of commencing a reform in those which already exist.

Nothing more is required than a Central Board of Education, composed of fit men, whom the Clown may.apppoint, with the same power over the annual Government grants for educational purposes that is now given to the Lords of the Treasury.

Twenty thousand pounds are now voted every year in aid of building school- houses, which, when erected, merely serve to deceive the public into the belief that education is advancing, when really it is making little or no progress. Suppose the came money given only on condition that the school established should be conducted upon a plan likely to be effective, and how different would le the result from what we see at the present moment. Let them be a model and a normal school for training properly qualified i '

teachers • let the Central Board have power not only to aid in building school- houses, but in supporting good schools when established, and the way would be gradually paved for a more comprehensive measure. The power of withholding an annual grant, of however small an amount, from an ill-conducted school, would be quite formidable enough to cause their authority to be respected; and the power of giving pecuniary assistance, however limited, would be quite aulli- cient to induce by degrees all the mismanaged charity schools now existing to place themselves under the Board.

The plan is simple and feasible; nothing but resolution is wanting to effect the object—not in a moment, but by such steps as would be at once safe and certain.

Let no one imagine that the work of educational reform can be effected with-

out centralization. Without a Central Board, armed not with despotic powers calculated to irritate and inflame the public mind, but with sufficient power to make it the interest of all persons connected with schools to adopt improved plans of instruction, little or nothing can be accomplished. An individual might waste a life in reasoning with schoolmasters and mistresses, appealing to committees and their secretariea, and canvassing subscribers, without succeed- ing in changing the character of more than half-a-dozen schools throughout the country. But a Central Board, operating by means of an establishment for training teachers and annual grants, might iu a short time produce a change that would appear as the effect of magic.

We could readily extend our extracts, especially by means of some specimens of absurd lessons, through which well-meaning but unenlightened persons fancy they are teaching religion. The scope and character of the essay can, however, be apprehended from this notice; and its price is such as to place it within the reach of every one,--probably from its appearing under the superintendence of the Central Society of Education.