FREE EDUCATION.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] should like to call a little more attention to the cry of Free Education. It is one that I have always dreaded, not only from its social, but more especially from its political effects. Can any one imagine a more dangerous political cry than that for Free Education ? I would warn all electors against a candidate who is in favotir of it, for his motives can hardly be sincere. The poor will willingly give their votes to the man or woman who argues that education, benefiting as it does the whole nation, ought to be paid for out of the revenue, and not by the poor. I can think of candidates putting forward this cry as doing nothing less than bribing their electors indirectly if not directly. I cannot think that any person could candidly and conscientiously argue against the social objections that were so clearly stated in your last issue. But again, if they give education free, why should they not give food and amuse- ments free ? The argument is just the same. The strength and physical energy of the individual goes to form the strength and physical power of the nation ; therefore the State ought to
that the poor have good food, have the necessary amount of bread, beef, and beer. And if the poor prefer to spend their money in buying fine clothes, let them, for the State will see that they are well provided with food. The same argument holds with amusements. Therefore, if these people were truly sincere, the least they could do to show their sincerity would be to be logical. But this they are not, and there- fore I maintain that they are not sincere, but that their only motive in advocating free education is to catch a few stray votes. Besides which, do these persons really believe that the poor would be the gainers ? No; the employers would take it in the form of reduced wages. In conclusion, I should like to draw attention to what resulted to Rome after it had adopted a course similar to what Miss Helen Taylor and her friends favour, only the Romans reversed the process, beginning with free amusements, then free food, and finally free education. It shows in the most conclusive manner possible the frightful harm, the utter ruin that such a course brings on a country. The Roman Empire was one of the finest, if not the finest, that the world has ever seen, and its ruin is distinctly traceable to this cause. For in the provinces, where they had to pay for their food and education, and generally for their amusements, there was great prosperity. The fall of Rome was due to the utter rottenness and demoralisation of its centre, caused by the mob of Rome having no longer the necessity to work, and being left idle, to put in authority the man who promised them most, quite irre- spective of his personal qualifications. And I ask, does any one think that a London mob would be more manageable than the
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