While we have steadily upheld the claim of the present
majority on the London School Board to public support, on the ground that they have done their difficult work exceedingly well, we cannot blind ourselves to the fact that if they are to be sustained permanently, they must practise a certain rigidity of economy. It appears, from the official statement in the Times of Thursday, that the Board proposes to expend a sum of 2643,791 Os. 8d. a year, or a fraction more than &N. in the pound upon the rateable value of the metropolis, which is this year 224,605,000. This is a very large sum, and though pro- bably not in excess of the work done, still equals the highest grant for the education of England allowed by Lord Russell's scheme. What with improvement rates, poor-rates, and other expenditure, the rates of London begin to be severely felt even by the well-to-do, and from the method of their incidence press with great severity upon moderate fixed in. comes. If, therefore, the Board are not exceedingly careful, they will have to face an irritated reaction, which it would be much better to avoid, and perhaps have to submit to the presence of an agent of the Privy Council, with powers such as Mr. juland Danvers enjoys on Indian Railway Boards. This is no reason for refusing payment to the Chairman, which we oppose upon other grounds than economy; but it is a reason for sharp watchfulness upon those expenditures which, when multiplied by all the children taught, become so heavy. London„ the Board should not forget, is governed by the middle-class, which does not derive any direct advantage from national education.
Previous page
