§ THE LORD ADVOCATEsaid, he would now beg leave to introduce two Bills, upon the subject of Education in Scotland. The one was entitled a "Bill to regulate and make further provision 664 for Parochial Schools in Scotland," and the other, a "Bill to make provision for Education within Burghs in Scotland." A long contest upon the question had taken place last Session, but the time and labour of the House had, much to his regret, been thrown away. The Bill he had then introduced was supported by many hon. Members, Scotch as well as English; but, although it was successful in that House, it did not pass through the other House. He did not think it would be expedient to resume year after year the conflict of last Session, and therefore, although he was not prepared to surrender to any extent the general principles then affirmed by the House, he thought it would be desirable to endeavour, by dividing that Bill and altering some of its details, to make some improvement in the present state of education in Scotland. He had heard with great satisfaction a remark from a right hon. Baronet (Sir J. Pakington), whom he did not now see in his place, that the question of education had ceased to be one in the category of party questions. He could not, however, but remember that, during the twenty-five or thirty divisions which had taken place last Session upon his Bill, it had been treated otherwise than as a party question, and he did not think the right hon. Baronet had voted with him upon any one of those divisions. He did not wish the other side of the House to support these Bills, or any portion of them, with which they could not agree, but he appealed to them, if the principle of the Bills were affirmed by the House in a clear and decided manner, not to wage a protracted contest upon every clause, but to discuss the details in the Committee, and give the measure in Committee a fair and candid consideration. The question divided itself into two branches. He proposed, as the titles of the Bills showed, first, to deal with parochial schools in Scotland, and secondly, to make provision for education within burghs in Scotland. He would now endeavour to explain the provisions of the two measures. In approaching the question of parochial schools, he would lay it down as a principle, that it was impossible longer to maintain the exclusive character of those parochial schools. The House of Commons had upon several occasions declared that principle, and it was impossible to deal with the question and to leave the exclusive tests in existence. He therefore met that obstacle at the outset, since he 665 must clear it out of his path, and the sooner that question was brought to an issue the better. The tests were indefensible, and, except by a very few people, the principle was not maintained or defended by persons of any opinion. The Bill would abolish, and he trusted for ever, exclusive tests. In districts where the parochial schools were deserted it was impossible to defend them. Anxious as he was, however, to clear away those obstacles, he did not propose to make greater changes in the parochial schools than were required. Where the master was appointed by the minister and heritors, he proposed that the right of the Presbytery to initiate prosecutions against him should be abolished; since the Presbytery, being judges, ought not to be prosecutors at the same time. In the next place, he proposed that in trials for moral delinquency the heritors and the minister might be the judges, and that either the inspectors of the district or the heritors might take up charges and suspend the master. If the master thought himself aggrieved, he might appeal to the sheriff of the county. The Bill, therefore, provided that the Presbytery should not initiate proceedings against the master in the cases he had mentioned, but that it should be in the power of the heritors and the inspectors to entertain accusations against the master, and they might either suspend or dismiss him. He was not in favour of making the prosecution of a schoolmaster for delinquency a great State matter, in which the Lord Advocate and the Procurator Fiscal should be called in. Such an arrangement would, he thought, exercise a prejudicial effect upon the school and its management. Let those who superintended the school come down and remove the schoolmaster if he was unfit to perform his duties. He did not propose to interfere with the right of examination of schoolmasters, except where the minister and the heritors chose a schoolmaster not of the Established Church. In all those cases where the heritors and the minister thought that the schoolmasters ought not to be of the Established Church, there the right of examination of the Presbytery should be abolished. Of course, if the schoolmaster belonged to the Established Church, there would be no hardship in submitting him to the examination of the Presbytery. He proposed to make provision for the inspection of the schools by the Government inspector, and for the examination of the masters. He trusted 666 that, in clearing away the exclusive tests, Parliament would be opening the doors to a more liberal view of the whole subject. With regard to education in burghs, his proposals were simple. It was proposed to give the town councils of burghs the right to assess the property within the burgh for schools and education up to a certain amount. He did not propose to lay the town councils under any restrictions, for he thought those bodies might safely be trusted with the power of administering the funds of the schools. He only proposed that where the town councils intended to avail themselves of the powers given by the Bill, the Resolution to that effect should be moved before the month of August in any year. The resolution would then be passed prior to the annual election of new members of the town council in October, and if those new members also adopted the resolution the Bill would take effect. He was certain the funds raised under the Bill would be by those bodies administered to the advantage of the inhabitants of the burghs. Whatever might be the case in other quarters, there were no corporate bodies who had more at heart the instruction of the lower orders, or were better fitted to manage it, than the town councils of Scotland. He had omitted to mention in its proper place one part of the Parochial School Bill, which gave an increase of salaries to the schoolmasters and an increase of comforts with regard to their dwellings. In that he followed the views of the hon. Gentleman the Member for Perth (Mr. Stirling). He did not propose to take anything from Government resources—the necessary provision would be made by the landowners in the counties and by the ratepayers in the boroughs. But he would adopt the suggestion of the hon. Gentleman the Member for Perthshire (Mr. Kinnaird), and impose on heritors such an increase of salary, as it was understood in the discussions upon the question last year they were all willing to pay. He might fairly tell the House that, when he proposed to sweep away the whole parochial system and found the basis of a great national system, he thought it perfectly fair the Government should bear a portion of the expense. But it would be unreasonable now to propose the same amount of Government assistance; and he was not without the hope that the absence of provisions of that kind would have the effect of making the Bill more popular. From Glasgow representations had been 667 made to his noble Friend at the head of the Government by some of the most influential men there, the late Lord Provost, Messrs. Ballantyne and Watson, and two gentlemen at the head of the medical profession, complaining that the means of education there were greatly inadequate. A rate there, limited to one penny in the pound, would be productive of the greatest possible advantage. Having glanced at the main features of the measure, he might now state that he did not mean to stop here; but he could not, without some degree of repugnance, launch into such a sea of discussion as that of last year. But if the two Bills were received favourably, if the question of tests raised by the first Bill were settled, he would then state to the House what he proposed as a more general measure of education. He might, however, take that opportunity of stating that, if they settled the parish schools on the footing of his Bill, he did not propose to interfere further in their management, and any general management would be substantially confined to new schools and borough schools. If they came under the general system, he proposed to have the nomination of inspectors, the survey by inspectors, and the reports to Parliament, as proposed last year. But since last year a very important alteration had taken place, because it had been proposed, and would, he presumed, be carried, to have a Minister of Education responsible for the conduct of that department. A great deal of discontent was excited against the Board of Education which he proposed last year. There were only three courses open—either to leave the local authorities without control, or to have the control in Edinburgh, or to have the control in London. He thought the leaving the control in Edinburgh the best mode, but that was objected to; and, now that there would be a responsible Minister in that House, the difficulty of leaving the whole matter in the hands of the Council of Education would be removed. He should propose the Board of Inspectors as the central authority, so far as there would be any central authority, subject to the superintendence of the Minister of Education. The inspectors would report, in the first instance, to the Minister of Education what parishes required schools; opportunities would be afforded to the parishes to state any objection; the four inspectors would make separate inquiry, and, if they reported that schools were required, the schools would 668 be established. Before 1858 the inspectors would lay on the table of the Houses of Parliament a detailed statement of the state of education in Scotland and what new schools were required, and within six months afterwards an order would issue from the Council of Education where the schools should be established, with a rate to support them. He should also propose in that Bill that regulations be drawn up for the general management of the new schools, and that the Government money given for education should be given to such schools as should adopt those regulations. He would, therefore, now move, in the first place, for leave to introduce the Parochial School Bill; and, in the second place, a Bill for Education within Scotch Burghs. With regard to the general measure of education, as the discussion on the noble Lord's (Lord J. Russell's) Resolutions would come on immediately, when the whole of this great question would be considered, the House would think he had exercised a sound discretion in not including it in the present notice. He hoped that, having explained the course he proposed to follow, the House would assent to the introduction of the two smaller measures, and so far aid in the suppression of ignorance and crime in Scotland.
§ MR. BAXTERsaid, he regretted to find, from the statement of the right hon. and learned Lord Advocate, that they were not sufficiently agreed in reference to that great question of education to enable them to adopt some really liberal and comprehensive system for its promotion. He could not help thinking that their differences upon the subject consisted more in words than in realities, and that if they would all think less about their polemical differences a large proportion of their difficulties would at once vanish. He believed that a very general feeling prevailed in Scotland last year that the House had attached too much importance to the memorials of clerical combatants. He hoped that all parties in the House would eventually unite in a spirit of conciliation to frame an educational measure for Scotland, which would reflect credit upon themselves as legislators and at the same time be of essential benefit to the country. He must confess, however, that although the present Bill fell short in his estimation of what was required, and might truly be considered illiberal and unjust to the great dissenting denomination, he could not object to the Bill in toto, because he would not consent to throw away a 669 measure that really contained the elements of good, because he himself aimed at something better and higher. In his opinion the entire management of the parochial schools in Scotland ought to undergo a change, and, therefore, he certainly should be extremely sorry to see that system extended over an indefinite period. Still he should be equally sorry to see a system which had worked well rashly interfered with; and if the question solved itself into the continuance of an educational system connected exclusively with the Church of Scotland, or none at all, he should rather choose to bear the evils resulting from that exclusiveness than fly to others which Scotland happily knows nothing of. They were, however, asked to continue the present system for a limited period only, and he hoped that no hon. Gentleman, however fond of change, would be disposed to interpose difficulties in the way of so reasonable a measure. The condition attached to this proposal was, that the test was to be abolished, and that persons should be eligible for masters although they might not be members of the Church of Scotland. That principle was already admitted in the case of the Universities, and had been recently sanctioned in various Acts of Parliament, and as hon. Gentlemen on the other side of the House had never pretended to uphold the present system in all its integrity, he hoped they would accept the offer now made. The second Bill gave boroughs permissive powers to tax themselves. This was what so many of them asked during the discussions which took place last Session; and its introduction now met, in the opinion of many, but not in his, all the exigencies of the case. He was glad that his right hon. and learned Friend intended to introduce an inquiry by inspection into the condition of the schools, because he was sure that such a proceeding would be satisfactory to all parties, for it would show both Churchmen and Dissenters how far they were right or wrong, and would bring to light many facts which had been hitherto neglected and forgotten. One thing, was certain, namely, that it would prove the miserable inefficiency of a class of men, who took upon themselves the important office of public instructors of youth in the suburbs of large towns, and would reveal an amount of ignorance even in boasted Scotland that would astonish them. It would prove that the system of religious tuition, although the bone of contention, was really the same all over Scotland, and, 670 above all, would most materially strengthen the conclusion at which many had arrived, that eventually some sort of educational test should be required from young parsons obtaining employment either in shops or factories, either as domestic servants, or as workers on a farm. On the whole, he hoped that his right hon. and learned Friend would persist in the moderate course which he was by this measure pursuing, and that he would be met in a conciliatory spirit by hon. Gentlemen on both sides of the House.
§ MR. BLACKsaid, that having been for a long time in connection with persons in Scotland who took the deepest interest in this question, he thought it his duty to state what they considered were the principles upon which a national system of education should be established. They thought that such a system ought not to he exclusive, but national—not denominational, but unsectarian. The parent was the person responsible for the education of his child, and especially for the religious instruction which it received. The parochial schools of Scotland possessed at one time great merit, and had undoubtedly done good service to the country; but they no longer satisfied the requirements of the age, and the enthusiasm with which some hon. Members occasionally alluded to them resembled the admiration which, forgetful of the change that time had made in their looks and constitution, we still delighted to bestow on those whom we had known in the days of their youth and beauty. When those schools were instituted, the population of Scotland was about 1,000,000; it was now nearly 3,000,000, and in the interim, dissent had so greatly increased, that the Established Church did not low comprise more than one-third of the population. Fully two-thirds of the people were now disqualified by the religious test from the office of schoolmaster. Sectarianism was the bane of the educational system in Scotland, and it would so continue until the test was abolished. He was for educating all the children of a district in the same school, where the children would sit on the same form, learn the same lessons, engage in the same games, and form friendships which, in after life, would smooth the asperities of sect and party. The greatest obstacle to an improved system of education was supposed to be that offered by the religious element; but that difficulty, when it came to be manfully grappled with, would doubtless give way, 671 and be found to be nothing but an idle bugbear. He was strengthened in his belief by the fact that in the High School of Edinburgh at present there were teachers connected with the Presbyterian establishment, with the Free Church, and with the Episcopalian denomination; and yet no one intending to send a son to that school ever dreamt of inquiring to what sect the masters belonged. The same thing would most probably happen in regard to the national schools when they were once fairly set in motion. The opinion of the people of Scotland on the question of education had of late years been strongly in favour of obtaining the best teacher for a school, no matter what sect he belonged to; the only test they wished to retain was that of qualification for his office. It must also be recollected, that although a number of new schools had certainly been established, it did not necessarily follow that the amount of education was greater, because it unfortunately happened that, from sectarian asperity, the schools became rivals, not assistants, and, in point of fact, in many cases the establishment of a new school in a particular locality had greatly injured the old one, without doing itself any perceptible good; so that, if a general system could be established, and the existing schools could be fairly apportioned over the whole country, not only would a general system of education be established without increased expense, but the amount of education given would, in all probability, be greatly increased and its quality improved. There was no occasion, in his opinion, for teaching sectarianism at schools, for such was the nature of the human mind, that different opinions, especially on religious subjects, could not fail to be adopted after leaving school, but, by a general system of education, friendships would be formed, and a spirit of conciliation nurtured which would alleviate the bitterness of religious animosity and enable the educated man to enjoy his own convictions, while he extended a due measure of respect to the differing opinions of his neighbour. He fully admitted that, up to the present moment the religious, or rather sectarian, element had been the chief obstacle to the formation of a general system; but he believed that, if it could be once established, it would greatly conduce to the results which he had indicated. He was satisfied that no school could exist in Scotland from which religion was excluded; and although the word religion 672 was not so much as mentioned in the statute, it would certainly form a part of the instruction in every school. He was sorry that his right hon. and learned Friend was unable to carry out an educational system upon a more comprehensive scale, but he accepted the measure as a step in the right direction, for he thought, if they could get the test abolished, it would open the way to greater improvements, and be well worth the struggle they had made to effect the object.
§ MR. MACKIEsaid, he gave his most cordial approval to the measure which had been that night brought in, especially to that portion affecting burghs, and making the education compulsory there, for he was shocked to say that in the closes, alleys, and wynds of Glasgow alone there were no less than 15,000 children growing up in a deplorable state of ignorance and neglect. He disapproved of maintaining the present system of tests, because he was of opinion that the best men should be selected as teachers; but he wished it to be understood that he was of opinion that none should be chosen to instruct the youth of the country who were not firm believers in the broad truths of the Gospel.
§ SIR ANDREW AGNEWsaid, the measure of the right hon. and learned Lord Advocate was being watched with the most intense anxiety by the entire population of Scotland; and though he should have wished to have seen it carried a little further, he thought it could not fail of giving satisfaction, for it was a Bill which, if carried in its present shape, would eminently conduce to the maintenance of peace. The light in which the question of education should be considered was not whether the parish schools of Scotland had effected much good, or whether they were of a sectarian character, but whether at present they possessed the confidence of the great body of the people. Now, it was notorious that parish schools, as at present constituted, had not the confidence of the great majority of the population; but, the existing test once got rid of, they would no doubt, speedily recover their pristine efficiency and popularity. The school maintained by the Free Church did not really supplement the deficient educational machinery of the establishment, for, being frequently situated almost side by side with the parochial schools, instead of occupying localities which they left vacant, they were mere rivals to them on their own ground. The repeal of the test would therefore do 673 great good if it put an end—as it was likely to do—to this unseemly state of things. The measure, so far from inflicting a heavy blow on the Presbyterian establishment, would strengthen the position of that Church, by removing the discontent and jealous feeling with which it was at present regarded. The Government object being to enable all classes to partake of the advantages afforded by parish schools, he thought a more moderate measure than the present could not be conceived, and he hoped sincerely that it would not meet the fate of former measures for the improvement of education in Scotland. He thought that no reasonable fear could be entertained by the Opposition that this was an attack on the Established Church of Scotland, and that it was only getting in the thin edge of the wedge, preparatory to an attack of a similar character in this country, because there was nothing analogous in the influence of the two Churches upon education. The Church of England did not profess to have the control of education in this country, and the present measure could not in the remotest degree affect its interests. He therefore entreated all parties to accept this very moderate measure, which he hoped would for ever put an end to all bitterness of feeling with relation to the most important question of education.
§ MR. BLACKBURNsaid, he did not mean to follow the example set by hon. Gentlemen opposite of discussing the merits of a Bill the provisions of which were not before them; but he was glad that the right hon. and learned Lord had followed the advice given him by Gentlemen on his (the Opposition) side of the House last Session, namely, to leave these parish schools in pretty much the same position as they were at present. Of course they all wished to improve the social status of the teacher; but other matters, such as those relating to the management, had better be left alone. He had told the right hon. and learned Lord, over and over again, that religious instruction must be given in the parish schools, and, of course, there might be some examination by inspectors. He trusted, however, that no compulsory powers would be placed in their hands, and that the entire management of the schools should rest, as at present, with those from whom they derived their chief support. Further than this he declined to enter into the consideration of the measure in its present stage.
§ MR. STIRLINGsaid, he thought hon. Members might thank the Gentlemen on his side of the House for any improvement in this measure upon that of last Session. Discussions on subjects like this, which involved a great many social questions, were not very likely to moderate men's opinions, and therefore the right hon. and learned Lord Advocate was the more to be commended for the moderation he had displayed on the present occasion. Last year an hon. Friend of his, the Member for Elginshire (Mr. C. Bruce), had moved, on going into Committee, that the Bill should be divided into two parts; but the Lord Advocate had done more, he had divided the Bill of last Session into three separate Bills, the third of which was, perhaps, the most shadowy, because they were told it was not to be considered till after the House had affirmed or rejected the principle of this. Undoubtedly he thought that were it not for the existence of religious differences, the question of Scotch education might be settled either in a Committee-room upstairs, or at the offices of the Committee of Council on Education. He fully admitted that in burghs it was justifiable to establish schools without the superintendence of the Church of Scotland; but with respect to the rural districts the case was entirely different, because in them the Church of Scotland was the sole author of a system of education. They had heard a great deal of the necessity of education in Scotland, and he should be the last person to deny the existence of the want; but he was of opinion that the particular schools which ought to be extended were reformatories rather than any other, and for that opinion he had the very highest authority. He would refer the House to the Minutes of the Committee of Council upon Education, in which every one of the Inspectors that spoke for Scotland, spoke with the greatest respect of the present system and machinery, and not one complaint was made that it was defective. He considered that the existing system of education in Scotland was in a very satisfactory state.
§ Leave given; Bills ordered to he brought in by the LORD ADVOCATE, Sir GEORGE GREY, and Viscount DUNCAN.