Sir John Gorst introduced the Education Bill of the Government
on Tuesday afternoon in a very able speech, of which the introductory part, before he got to his account of the new measure, was singularly interesting. He told the House that in 1895 the voluntary schools educated 2,445,812 children, against 1,879,218 educated in Board-schools. The voluntary schools, moreover, received in 1870 only £329,84t; from their supporters for the maintenance of the schools, whereas in 1895 they received 2640,406. Indeed, calcu- lated merely in proportion to the number of children educated. the subscriptions to the voluntary schools are now on the increase, for while in 1894 they amounted to only 6a 8.1d per child, they amounted last year to 6s. 100., or to an additional 21t1. for every child educated. And besides this, the English Church has spent in buildings between 1870 and 1895 no less than £7,375,402. Of course, therefore, Sir John Gorat had no difficulty in showing that it would not only be very unfair to the supporters of schools who had made such public-spirited efforts as this to try and force their children into School Board schools which they do not approve, but that it would be a most unjustifiable piece of gratuitous national extravagance, especially as the cast of a child in School Board schools is on an average £2 10s. 11d., as against £1 1Ss. 111d. in the voluntary schools.
