[To THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR:1
Sin,—Mr. Bradley tells us of the remarkable success of educational workshops in Sweden in enabling and inducing boys to live healthy and useful lives. I think it may be useful to point out that England supplies absolutely convincing evidence that the supply of " Hooligans " could be almost completely stopped if English Governments:would apply common-sense to our system of education. You have allowed me to call atten- tion to the wretched physical and moral condition of a large Proportion of the inhabitants of our large towns, and especially c.f Manchester, where in certain districts "Hooligans "—called there " Scuttlers "—abound, and the average physique is so poor that of eleven thousand men who wished to enlist last year eight thousand were rejected on account of physical defects. Well, in that town, which is doing so much to ruin our English race, the Ardwick Industrial School receives a large number of the boys who of all Manchester boys have, but for the school, the greatest chance of becoming stunted 'Hooligans," and, later in life, confirmed criminals,—boys found in brothels or in the company of thieves, and boys whom, but for the existence of industrial schools, Magistrates would have to send to prison. These boys the school feeds simply but abundantly ; it gives them military drill and much carefully chosen gymnastic training ; it gives them sensible religious instruction, and brings them under the influence of the churches 'of which their parents are, or are supposed to be, members ; it teaches them to read, write, an do sums ; and it trains them to do carpentering, shoe-
to bake and to do several other kinds of j,h.citi.,trial .1.7naeriiiiii Widely. chosen Spite* of trigiaii. *Lich.
includes instruction in the production of excellent military - music, the boys thrive in body, heart, and mind, and in spite of the bad influence of their early surroundings more than ninety per cent. of them turn out well. I have no hesitation in saying that if our elementary schools, Board and denomina- tional, were managed by men blowing as much about the proper objects of education as do the Committee of Manage. ment of the Ardwick Industrial School, there would be a great diminution in the number of our criminals and paupers. The condition of our Army is a striking proof of Parliament's willingness to tolerate dangerous inefficiency, but the condi. tion of our educational system is a still more striking example of the results of Governmental inefficiency, and is, in its turn, a most fruitful cause of inefficiency in all parts of the national life.—I am, Sir, &c., T. C. HORSFILL.
Aix-les-Bains.
[We have also received very interesting letters on this subject from Mr. F. Scott and Mr. C. B. Simpson, showing the good work done in Manchester by the formation of lads' clubs and the exertions of the Open Spaces Committee in pro- viding means of open-air recreation. Accepting Mr. Eck's defi- nition of "Hooliganism" as "animal spirits misdirected," they show the notable results obtained by the effort to institute a counter-attraction to the life of the streets, and by means of gymnasiums and football and boating clubs to form some sort of esprit de corps among boys who, if left alone, become a danger to the public peace. A small subscription is exacted, and contributions to the penny bank are expended on clothing, or if they reach the sum of 8s. 6d. they entitle the subscriber to eight days under canvas on the Welsh coast at -Whitsun- tide. The Rev. Bernard Wilson, of the Oxford House, has also written to us describing similar institutions in Bethnal Green, and appealing to those interested in the work to help in the completion of the funs' to purchase the property on which the gymnasium and baths are situated. The Oxford House clubs . contain at the present moment about eleven hundred men and boys. We may notice finally the admirable work which is done by the various semi-official boys' cadet companies in London, which supply the basis of military training and give boys in the most awkward stage of life some ambition and self-respect. The animal spirits are there, and we should be thankful for them ; it is our business to see that they are directed to the proper channels. We regret that we can print no more letters on this subject.—En. Spectator.]
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