Ittirrs to hitnr.
WINCED OM.
Sin—The National Society, the Conventicler, and the politicians of the Off-hand school, led by Mr. Henley, Mr. Hadfield, and the Knight of Netherby, may be left by all sane persons to p,quabble over their victory (to themselves, at least, sufficiently embarrasses) in the cause of English Duncedom. But the sublime ignorance and stupendous assumptions of that wonderful debate may give rise to the following considerations. 1. That it is not a question of whether " the State " or " the Church and the Denominations" shall educate the people ; but whether, seeing that "the Church and the Denominations " have failed to educate more than a quarter of the people, it is not time for "the State" to take the matter into its own hands.
2. That the National Society has now openly avowed that it will sacri- fice the education of three-fourths of the people in-order to preserve its in- fluence over the remainder.
3. That "the Conventieles" have avowed that they do not care for the school except as a nursery for the sect. 4. That the Off-hand politicians look on education as a luxury, which weak-minded people may give to the people if they are fools enough to throw their money away, but which does not concern the nation.
5. That these things being so, there must be war to the knife between all these champions of King Dunce and every one who cares for the welfare, spiritual and temporal, of the people of England. 6. That the only objection to Lord John Russell's resolutions which has any weight—viz. that rate-payers are hardly at present fit to control education —is worthless in the mouths of his opponents ; for had he proposed to vest the power in the Committee of Council, (the only other means by which he could have made education universal,) they would have shouted centrali- zation " with might •and main. 7. That while the education professed to be given by " the Church and the Denominations" was ludicrously inadequate in quantity, it was miser- ably defective in quality exceptingwhen, where, and just so far as the Com- mittee of Council interfered.
8. That the cry of " over-education " as regards certificated schoolmasters is most false ; for every teacher-must know much more than he is likely to teach, or he would teach badly. A Senior Classic teaches Caesar and Xeno- phon to the fourth form; a lawyer reads Justinian, and defends a duck- stealer ; I read St. Augustin, and preach against selling milk from the pump. Regard for your space forbids me to indulge in any general admiration of Lord John Russell's excellent resolutions and noble speeches, or in any general.denunciation of the friends of Duncedom.
A CHESHIRE Ranson.
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