EDUCATION OF THE MULTITUDE.

THE Report from the Committee of the House of Commons "on the Education of the Poorer Classes in England and Wales," ap- pears at a seasonable time. Public attention is forced to the sub- ject of the franchise, which the "poorer classes" demand, scorn- ing the imputation that they are not sufficiently instructed to ex- ercise it wisely. The Report of the Committee, however, with the Evidence, confirms the worst surmises of the deplorable ignorance of the great bulk of the population, and conveys the impression that there is not that general willingness to receive instruction, for which the masses have commonly obtained credit in these latter and more philanthropic days. The inquiries of the Committee were directed chiefly to the state of education among children ; but the information collected on this point embraces necessarily much that relates to the habits and views of the parents. In the manufacturing districts of Lanca- shire, the working classes comprise 80 percent. of the entire popu- lation; and in all parts of the country they form a very large pro- portion of the whole—in some of the more populous manufac- turing country districts they are reckoned as 94 out of every 100 souls. It is calculated, from very imperfect data, that in Manches- ter one child in 35 receives instruction "likely to be useful ;" and in the manufacturing places near it, about one in 24; whereas, in the opinion of the Committee, one-eighth of the entire population should be furnished with the means of instruction. The impor- tant bearings of the investigation are seen at once from these facts.

Birmingham and its neighbourhood may be assumed to be at least on a par with the other great towns and districts of England as respects the morality and intelligence of the bulk of the inha- bitants. But read what Mr. JOHN CORR'S, a Magistrate, Chair- man of the West Bromwich Poor-law Union, and an accom- plished gentleman, says of the condition of the people. He is asked if education among the humbler classes is much wanted ?- I should say it is greatly, lamentably wanted. There is very little education of any Sort; that which there is, is el the most elementary kind—reading and indifferent writing. Most of those (and especially the young) who come before the Magistrates, and before the Union Hoard, are unable either to read or write ; they have no knowkdge of moral obligation, or very little. Many of them have never been at any place of worship. I have no conception of any other means of forcing civilization downwards in society except education. There is a slight surface of civilization; these in certain circumstances have a little education, but the mass hare none. The educated classes have the benefit of all the'recorded experience of the past to guide them: these poor people have no recorded experience ; their own experience or the little experience of their fathers and mothers, is all they have to guide them."

It is to be remarked, that the West Bromwich district is one in which, from the absence of gentlemen and squires, the working population is very much left to its own ways. There is, however, one splendid exception, in the Tory Earl of DARTMOUTH. Mr. CORR1E says—" This excellent person, of great property, is always doing good ; " and in another part of his evidence, gives an instance of Lord DARTMOUTH'S judicious mode of weaning the population of his neighbourhood from brutality- " We used to have bull-baiting in these districts ; and the colliers were de- votedly attached to it; and there were riots when any attempt was made to prevent this bull-baiting. Last year, Lord Dartmouth opened an enclosure near Lis own park, at the usual time of bull.baiting, for races of various kinds,- bag-races and other things, and hurdle-races, such as deeply interest the com- mon people. He had them there the three days of bull-baiting ; and there was no effort to bait a bull ; there was no riot, no confusion, and not a single thing brought before the Magistrates. The experiment succeeded entirely. Lord Dartmouth attended himself with all his family ; and I hope it will be a continued practice."

It would be easy, but is not necessary, to make further ex- tracts from the Report to show the need of education in the ma- nufacturing towns. The facts are all of the same class, and tell the same story. It is not greater in and near Birmingham than in other populous districts : but as regards the Metropolis, it may be mentioned, that although the Committee calculate that gra- tuitous education ought to be supplied to one-eighth of the people, only about one-fourteenth receive it in Westminster, and one- twenty-seventh in the populous parishes of Christchurch Spital- fields, St, Mary Whitechapel, St. George-in-the East, St. John Wapping, St. Mary New ington, St. Mary Bermondsey, and Christ- church Surry. One point worthy of consideration is, whether the people, elms, ignorance is undoubted, are desirous and willing to make Sty exertion and sacrifice to secure it for their children? Som-e hut the general indifference is great. Dr. PHILLIPS K- Poor-law Commissioner, whose experience on these subjectsk'Y'l- tensive, thinks that parents must be compelled to give theiri3e=. deen the advantage of education, before deriving any benethfcit their labour ; otherwise they will put them into factories, amei- make them work from morning to night without giving theMth- slightest opportunity of mental improvement. He says that demand for education in Manchester " cannot be said to exceeei the supply ;" and that " among certain of the poorer classes the value of knowledge has not been ascertained, which is Perhaps the most perfect proof of ignorance." To this i■,norance Dr. K.: attributes the influence of such agitators as OASTLER, S &- and FEARGUS O'CONNOR.— 14 I consider that the success of the agitators in operating upon tachtiturft: ings and prejudices of the mast of the working population, is chiefly at"tr: hatable to the want of information of their real interests, and particulan; of the true basis of the relation between master and servant, in mend • ' communities."

Mr. JOHN R1DD■LL WOOD, employed by the Statistical Society of Manchester to make inquiries into the state of education ie large towns, says, that " a very great number who attended schools in Manchester, and have learned, perhaps, to read the

New Testament, who are from fifteen to twenty years of age, now in many cases do not know their letters ; and many of then; cannot read, who were able to read fluently on leaving school:' When asked if' the parents would not pay a penny a week for the education of each of their children, he replies-

" I am quite satisfied they would gladly pay a penny a week : but it is not the penny a week that is the question with them about sending their children to school—it it the expense of keeping them, when they can find profitable employment for them at six or seven years of age ; and it is an expense to provide them with such decent clothing as tuey ought to have when they gate

school. • • • The only way in which general education an obtain must be by an advance in the wages of the adult population."

Mr. WOOD seems to have " hit the nail on the head." This is the point, after all. It is not because the poor are indifferent le the advantages of education, but because they live from hand to mouth, and must devote themselves to the business of getting food for their families, that they grudge the time taken from the factory and spent at school. This is the reason why they who have learned to read become ignorant of the alphabet—they work

from morn to night, and go stupitled to bed. The improvement of their physical condition is a necessary prelimivary to mental enlightenment.

The work to be done is immense ; and, assuredly, voluntary exertion will go but a little way towards discharging the duty.

Mr. CORRIE is asked whether the rate-paying inhabitants of the West Bromwich district would not agree to a small rate of 3d. or 6d. in the pound for the purposes of educatism ? and he replies, that 1' any addition to the rate would be submitted to with great reluctance," and that " everybody pays as little as he can."

It appears, then, that the parents, ignorant themselves, grudge the hours taken from profitable labour for the education of their

children; and that the wealthier classes—so called, but in point of fact needy—would submit with great reluctance to an eduea- tion-rate. The only resource would seem to be the interference of the Government ; but the Government will not act effectually; and the Committee of' the house of Commons, rejecting the more enlarged proposition of their Chairman, Mr. SLA.NEY, for the esta- blishment of a Board of Education and the extension of G wern- mut assistance, came to the lame and impotent conclus:un, ex- pressed in their fourth resolution, that they could not recommend "any means for meeting the deficiency beyond the continuance

and extension of the grants which are at present made by the Treasury for the promotion of education through the medium of the National and British and Foreign School Societies."

Of the grants alluded to, the National or Church Society have

clutched the lion's share. From 1834 to 1838 both inclusive,they have received 69,7001.; while the British and Foreign, or Dis- senting Society, have only obtained 35,283/., though the latter re-

quire the most. The old complaint !

This is the sum of the whole matter—that the great bulk of the labouring population not only lack instruction, but the leisure to receive it ; that a portion of them are nevertheless ready to sacrifice the profitable labour of their children for the advantage of procuring something like education for them ; that even for this small portion the Government and individuals together pro- vide only means which are wretchedly inadequate; and that a Committee of the House of Commons, in 1838, can think of no better remedy for this monstrous evil and serious danger, than a perseverance in the system proved to be a miserable failure !. hen such is the result of the Parliamentary labours of their petters, who can blame the working classes for endeavouring to help themselves socially by political advancement ?