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object; but when they heard that the League had been organized, that its agitation was about to commence, they at once took up the question as one the most deeply interesting that could be brought before them, affecting as it did the particular business of their lives. There was a large number of members present at the meeting which was called to consider the matter, and not one word of objection was uttered to the platform of the League. On the contrary, they passed a resolution declaring that the principles of the League were worthy of hearty support, and promising to assist the object in view by every means in their power. That resolution was signed by a large number of secretaries, one of whom represented between 30,000 and 40,000 engineers. Now, in entering that resolution, he could not pledge himself that the League would have the moral and practical support of the men of all trades in London; but he thought he might pledge himself that it would at least have the support of alk those men represented in the names subscribed to the resolution, and in saying that he really gave in the adhesion of the working classes of the country. He was an old working man himself, and his sympathies, therefore, were with the working men. Whenever he could labour for them for the furtherance of any great object, he invariably did so. His own prosessional pursuits now compelled him to go through a deal of reading which was by no means so dry as many people were disposed to think he referred to the blue books issued by the Government. Now, if they referred to the reports of these gentlemen who were sent by Government to report upon the products of industry in the various countries of the world, they would find that whilst they in England were disputing and debating about creeds and differences in theology--subjects, no doubt, very interesting and important in their way-other nations were giving a practical education to their people, who were rising up, not to discuss and fight about theology, but to carry off the industry of this country in cotton and wool aud iron. If they did not give to the artizans of this country the same educational advantages as those enjoyed by the artizans of other nations, they shut them out from competition; for the markets were open to foreigners as well as to Englishmen. Why, then, permit other countries to beat their own in

the educational and technical stimulus required for the perfection of industry? They might depend upon it, that if this question of education was not speedily and satisfactorily settled, England would

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back as a nation, not theologically, but in the skill and power of her industry-she would lose her manufacturing supremacy, and when she had lost that he was afraid their theological disputes would be of very little use or interest. Mr. Murray, one of the Commissioners who reported upon the cotton fabrics at the Exposition at Paris in 1867, describing the Swiss goods, said that if in all countries there existed such a good system of education as Switzerland, the commercial position of England would be menaced in various ways. Again, Mr. Massey, who reported upon the woollen goods, said that there was no doubt the French were greatly indebted for their progress in manufactures to the very superior technical education which was obtained by the artizans through schools instituted for special instruction. Mr. Massey argued that if in England they wanted to have skilled working men, special regard must be given to general education. Now, they stood there to-day in the presence of as great an educational failure as had ever taken place on the face of the earth. The denominational system had promised to do everything, yet. they were told from the platform that day, that there were above two million children in the country receiving no education at all! That was a state of things utterly discreditable to them as a nation, and did they not adjust their differences and throw overboard their prejudices, England would sink as a nation in position and influence, theology not being able to save them from the fall.

The Rev. H. E. Dowson, addressing the Chairman, said: I understood that we came here to support secular education, but I find that we are now asked to support the British School system, and against that I utterly protest. I say it is a compromise, and every compromise deserves to fail.

The CHAIRMAN: Mr. Dowson has entirely misunderstood what has taken place. We do not use the word "secular"; but we exclude all theological parts of religion, and I am sure that what is left is what even Mr. Dowson himself would call "secular." But at any rate, however that may be, Mr. Dowson must remember

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that we have placed, or we wish to place, the decision of the question in the hands of the people themselves in each district, in the hands of the fathers of children who are to be educated, or, what is the same thing, their representatives on the school committees. Before I put the resolution, I wish to make one remark in reference to an observation which fell from Professor Rogers. He said that, in the estimation of some people, some members of the League were "obscurities." Now, I do not wish to point to the gentlemen who have addressed you to-day from this platform, nor to the 40 members of Parliament heading our list, nor yet to the 300 or 400 ministers of all denominations who have joined, nor to the most eminent men of science whose names appear on the list; but I would just say that we have been told upon the highest authority that we have upon our list of members certain persons of very great influence-indeed, of much greater weight and influence than we in Birmingham are at all conscious of. Therefore, although Professor Rogers is perfectly right in saying that we depend mainly upon the righteousness and goodness of our cause; that we intend to go not to celebrities, not to leaders, but to the people themselves (to whom we look for that strength and for that power which will ultimately most certainly carry the measure); yet still it will be seen that we are not altogether “political obscurities."

The resolution was then put and carried, and the meeting adjourned.

THE CHAIRMAN'S PAPER ON NATIONAL

SCHOOLS.

On the reassembling of the meeting in the afternoon, the CHAIRMAN read the following paper :

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The paper I am about to read on "The Best System for National Schools, based upon Local Rates and Government Grants," must not be supposed to emanate from the Provisional Committee, nor to have any more authority as an exposition of the views of the National Education League than a paper by any other member present would have. The central idea in the scheme of the National

Education League is that the education of the people should no longer continue to be based exclusively upon the isolated, and often fitful efforts of individuals, however noble and valuable those efforts might be; but that the State should become responsible for the education of the whole of its children. This responsibility need not involve taking immediate charge of all existing schools. Where education is being satisfactorily carried on there, it may be that no further action by the State will be required. It will suffice if provision be made for the transfer to the School Boards of those schools whose managers may desire it. It appears to me that no measure for a national system would be complete unless it contained the following enactments :-The entire cost of erecting or maintaining national-rate schools, to be defrayed out of the rates and taxes of the country, in the proportion of one-third from the former and two-thirds from the latter. The principle of payment on results to be continued. Power to be given for the compulsory purchase of school sites. In every county and in every large municipality a School Board to be elected of the ratepayers or their representatives.. These Boards shall ascertain where schools are wanted, and see that they are provided; shall negociate the transfer of existing schools to the local authorities, whenever such transfer is desired by the managers, and will be advantageous to the district; shall appoint committees to manage schools or groups of schools; shall levy the necessary rates, claim the Government grants, and pay all the expenses of the schools; shall keep registers of the children of school age within their districts, placing opposite to each child's name that of the school which may be fixed upon by the parents, guardians, or school officers, and shall send a list of the names and addresses of the children assigned to each school to the respective school committees; shall appoint school officers to make out and periodically revise the above registers, and undertake the duty of enforcing attendance, under the direction of the school committees. (The duties of these school officers might be performed by the schoolmaster in thinly-populated districts, and where the schools are small.) Shall fix the number of, and the period for, the attendances to be required of children in the course of the year, within the limits prescribed by the Committee of Privy Council on Education;

and shall take care that all other provisions of the Act of Parliament under which they are appointed be carried out. The School Committees shall appoint the masters and mistresses, subject to the approval of the School Boards; shall see that the school buildings are kept in repair, and supervise and sanction the expenditure of the school; shall report to the School Boards all irregularities and infractions of rules; shall cause registers to be kept of the attendances of all the children belonging to their schools, see that the school officers call on the parents or guardians of those children who attend irregularly, or do not attend at all, and acquaint them with their duties, with the meaning and object of the school laws, and the penalties following a disregard of them, and shall summon before them absentee children, or their parents or guardians, and admonish them; and in the event of their injunctions being disobeyed, shall cause them to be summoned before a magistrate, with whom shall rest the infliction of a fine. All national-rate schools shall be free, and no catechisms, creeds, or tenets peculiar to any particular sect shall be taught in them during the recognised school hours. But the school committee shall have power to permit the use of the Bible without note or comment, and to grant the use of the class rooms for religious instruction out of school hours, on condition that one sect is not favoured more than another. Whenever a parent or guardian can substantiate a plea of poverty as a reason for not sending a child to school, and there is no free school within reach, the committee shall have power to pay the school fees of such child; and it shall be obligatory on the managers of the school selected by the parent, if such school be receiving Government aid, to admit the child, and to refrain from teaching it any catechism, creed, or tenet peculiar to any particular sect. The managers of any non-national rate school may negotiate with the School Board for its transfer to the local authorities, and the Board shall, if the transfer be otherwise desirable, and the managers wish it, agree to appoint the said managers to be the School Committee, until their resignation or death, on the condition that all the provisions of the School Act are observed by them. Her Majesty's Inspectors shall cease to examine on religious subjects, and in each district there shall

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