HL Deb 01 December 1902 vol 115 cc813-23
THE EARL OF MEATH

My Lords, I rise to ask the President of the Board of Education whether in the schools connected with his Department he will lay greater stress than at present on the teaching of the history and geography of the Colonies and Dependencies of the Empire; and whether he will suggest to the school authorities that the 24th May in each year, being the anniversary of the birth of Her late Majesty Queen Victoria, might very appropriately be called "Empire Day," and be kept as a half-holiday by the scholars attending State-aided schools, and that the remainder of the day might be spent by them in exercises of a patriotric character, and in pleasant instruction in matters appertaining to the Empire and its responsibilities. On Thursday next your Lordships will be engaged in discussing a Bill of first-class importance dealing with the subject of education. The questions I have just asked are also connected with that subject, but they are probably not questions which will excite very great interest outside this House, nor are they likely to lead to controversy. But at the same time, though they are very small reforms in the practical working of education, I venture to think that, if carried out, they may have a greater and more far-reaching influence over the destinies of the Empire than would appear at first sight. I think it is difficult to exaggerate the importance to a citizen of the British Empire of a thorough knowledge of the history and geography, not only of this country but of those Colonies and Dependencies which are under the rule of our Gracious Sovereign. And when I say history and geography, I mean, as regards the latter, not only a knowledge of the capes and bays, rivers and mountains, and the towns of the countries in question. but also some knowledge of their agricultural, mineral, and botanical resources, and of the men and women who inhabit them.

Why do I lay such great stress upon the teaching of the history and geography of the Empire as a whole? Because it is very difficult to realise the vast responsibilities which lie upon the people of this country. There is no other nation in the world which has such a vast dependent population. What do I mean by that? I mean that there is no other nation which has such a large number of subjects who have no voice in the ruling of their destinies. Our Gracious Sovereign, as a Constitutional Monarch, rules, through Parliament, over an Empire which is situated in all five continents of the world, whose extent is spread over 12 million square miles, and whose population consists of 400 millions. It is very difficult to realise what is meant by 400 millions. Perhaps the easiest way of bringing it to our minds is to say that, roughly speaking, the population of these islands is 40 millions, and that the population of the British Empire is ten times as great. Now out of these 400 millions there are only 50 millions who can be said to be self-governing, forty millions inside these islands and ten millions outside. Consequently there are 350 million people dependent upon the goodwill of Parliament, and Parliament is elected—who by?—by the men who have been educated in our State aided schools. They are in the majority. They have it in their power either to govern this Empire well or ill, and to bring either happiness or misery to these 350 million people who are dependent upon their voice;and unless they are educated so as to know something about these people, where they live, and their customs and habits, how possibly can they influence Parliament to govern righteously and properly?

I freely acknowledge that since I brought this subject before your Lordships some years ago a vast improvement has been effected by the Education Department in this particular branch of education, but, although much has been done, I am very firmly of opinion that a great deal more can be done in the way of reform. What does the ordinary elector know of the past history, experiences, customs, and habits of thought of the people over whom we rule? What knowledge has he generally of the vast populations that inhabit the British Empire? I fear his knowledge is very limited. When I first brought this subject to the notice of your Lordships, matters were certainly very much worse than they are now. At that time there was practically nothing taught as regards the Empire as a whole. I will tell your Lordships a story which will illustrate to a certain degree my meaning. I was invited some years ago to give an address to some young lads, many of whom had just left school, the others being in the higher standards of the school. After thinking over the matter, I decided to try and interest them in the subject of heroism, and I selected for my subject, "How the Victoria Cross was gained in the Indian Mutiny by some of our most distinguished officers." As soon as I began my address I noted that there was a distinct lack of intelligence in the eyes of those I was addressing, and I at once saw that I was out of touch with them. I thought that the words "Indian Mutiny" were evidently strange to them, and I substituted "Sepoy Mutiny," but there was still no sign of intelligence. I then thought I would try and put it in a roundabout way, and I referred to it as "the great war, which all of you must have heard of, in which we retained, with the utmost difficulty, our Indian Empire." There was absolutely no response, Feeling very uncomfortable, I said I should be very much obliged if those lads who had heard of a war in India, or of a Sepoy war, or of an Indian Mutiny would hold up their hands, but only one hand was held up. I could not understand it, and after I had concluded my address I went to the schoolmaster of the village —it is a village within twenty-five miles of London—and I said: Do you mean to say you have never taught your boys anything about the Indian Mutiny? His reply was: No, my Lord, how could I? You would not have been able to do it either. These boys leave at 13 years of age. I am bound by the Education Department to teach them from the very beginning, the Saxon period and the Roman period, and the Tudors. There are a few who go as far as the Stuarts, but there is not one boy who has heard of the Hanoverian period. What must be the condition of mind of a boy leaving school and imagining that Queen Elizabeth was the predecessor of Queen Victoria? True, that is not the state of things now, for an improvement has been made since I last spoke in the House on the subject. I said then that the proper way to teach history was to teach it backwards. The events of the Hanoverian period, when the liberties of the country were on the anvil;the great struggle which occured between what are now the United States and this country;all the progress of thought which led up to the French Revolution, and which we are still feeling the effects of;the gigantic struggle with Napoleon—these and other comparatively modern events were at that time a blank to the great majority of those who were taught in the State-aided schools. It is not so bad now, but still I belive that if you were to go down to your schools, you would be very much astonished to find how few scholars there are who have any real knowledge of events of comparatively modern times.

Having once launched into this question I looked still further, and found that at that time it was impossible for girls to learn needlework, history, and geography, and that, because these three subjects were class subjects they were only able to take up two. There are now no longer any class subjects, and the block system has worked infinitely better. At the time of which I speak I engaged a schoolmistress to teach one of my infant children, and I found she did not know that Australia was British. At the same time I found that all the boys knew that Alfred the Great had received a cuff because he did not properly carry out some culinary process. Incidents such as these had been taught them with great trouble, but of what value to them in after life such knowledge can be thought to be I cannot imagine. I am thankful to see that amongst the compulsory subjects which are at present enforced are included needlework, science, geography, and history;but there is one that I am not thankful for—namely, grammer. I am also not thankful to find that a certain paragraph which was put into the Education Code after my speech in this House has been omitted. The paragraph I refer to is as follows:— Inspectors, in the examination of the Fourth and higher Standards in elementary schools, will call the attention of the scholars to our distant possessions, their productions government, and resources, and to those climatic and other conditions which render them suitable fields for emigration and honourable enterprise. Why it has been left out I do not know. It is certainly a retrograde step, and I trust that some similar paragraph may be reinserted. It is to me a matter of vital national consequence that all who dwell beneath the protecting influence of the Union Jack should have some correct understanding of the history, extent, power, and resources of the great Empire to which they belong, and some idea of the operative forces, geographical, social, and political, which have been at work in constructing this vast and prosperous State.

How much time is devoted in our schools to history at this moment? One hour a week only. The other half hour, which I suppose the Department would say is devoted to history, is really devoted to reading, for the whole of the attention of both master and scholar is directed to how the latter reads and not to the subject of history. Consequently I assert that there is only one hour a week devoted to history. The same amount of time is devoted to geography. As regards geography, I have here the Education Code. Nine model or speciman schemes of instruction for the guidance of masters are given in the Code, but of these there are only four which, under the heading of geography, mention the Colonies at all;and there is not a single mention anywhere under the heading of history of the Colonies or of the Empire. It may be that this knowledge is imparted, for reference is made in the schemes to Historical Readers. I have no doubt that some of these Historical Readers do refer to Imperial matters, but what I want to ask the President of the Board of Education to do is this. I want him not to leave it to the discretion of teachers as to whether they will or will not teach subjects connected with the Empire, but to say that he desires, as the representative of the Government, that the citizens of this country should know something about the British dominions beyond these islands. That is what I hope may be the result of the discussion this afternoon. Another question to which I should like particularly to draw the attention of the President of the Board of Education, is that of the maps which are hung up on the walls of schools, many of which are so ancient that they are absolutely useless. What are known as the Howard Vincent and the Navy League maps are excellent ones, giving the latest information, and I hope that, wherever it is possible the noble Marquess will use his influence to see that these or equally up-to-date maps are procured, for it appears to me to be very much more important that a British subject should be acquainted with the British Empire than that he should be an expert in all the geographical details of Germany or France.

One of the objections that will be raised to my remarks will be this. It will be said that there is so much already to be done in the schools that it is quite impossible to do anything more. I quite acknowledge that there is a great deal to be done, and that it is most difficult to impart all the necessary knowledge to boys and girls who leave at the early age of thirteen. But I have a suggestion to make on the subject. Can any one tell me that the study of grammar has ever really benefited those of the poorer classes who have gone through these schools? Personally, I have never yet met one who has been the better for all the hours spent on grammar. No doubt, after leaving school, a bright lad will teach himself to write and speak correctly, but my assertion is that the great mass of the younger children spend hours on grammer which might be spent on more useful subjects, and that they go out of the school to their homes, and talk and write just as incorrectly as before. If I am right, then grammar should be taught only in the higher classes, and more practical subjects substituted in the case of the young.

My second question, in regard to Empire Day, is one upon which I lay great stress. My proposal is that a day be established throughout the entire Empire on which the attention of all children attending Stat-aided schools should be specially directed to matters appertaining to the Empire and its responisiblities to the Empire and its responsibilities. Such a movement would be calculated to hasten the time when the whole Empire would be more closely bound together than at present. The children, moreover, would obtain a knowledge which would enable them to receive the advantage of closer federation, and would promote an affectionate regard for their fellow-subjects in other portions of the Empire. I have suggested May 24th as the most suitable day. I do not say that it is the only day, but it is the day which, I think, has commended itself to most people. We know how the Empire has expanded during the reign of our late gracious Sovereign. We know the interest she took in the Empire and its growth;and I do not think there could be a more appropriate day than the anniversary of the birth of the late Queen Victoria. This idea is no new or untried one. Empire Day in its full significance—that is to say, a day on which for several hours the children's attention should be drawn to matters of Empire, and for the rest they should be allowed to amuse themselves—is already in operation in four Colonies in different parts of the world, viz.,in Nova Scotia, in Ontario in Manitoba, and in Natal. In addition to the full Empire Day being in operation in these four Colonies, and also, I believe, in Cape Colony, May 24th is kept already as a holiday in a large number of other Colonies. It is established by law as a legal holiday throughout the whole of the Dominion of Canada, in the West Indies, Barbadoes, Jamaica, and in the Straits Settlements. In India it has been gazetted as a holiday under the title of Empress Day. Therefore May 24th is already kept as a special holiday throughout the greater part of the British Empire, and the special instruction which I suggest should be given on that day in this country has been given on that day in this country has been given in the schools in many of our Colonies. The Colonial Secretary, to whose attention I brought this subject before he left for South Africa, was kind enough to express sympathy with the idea, but said, very naturally, that he did not see his way to recommend the proposal to the Colonies or Dependencies until it had been adopted at home. He, however, gave me to understand that if the holiday were established at home, he would be happy to do his best to recommend it to the Colonies. At the Colonial Secretary's suggestion, I have corresponded on the subject with the different statesmen and representatives of the Empire who visited this country at the time of the Coronation. Sir Wilfrid Laurier writes to the effect that they had already established May 24th as a legal holiday throughout the whole of Canada. The Prime Minister of Ontario writes— The matter is one of great importance to the future of the Empire, and I am delighted to see that your Lordship is taking it up. The Prime Minister of British Columbia states— The sentiment is unanimous here in favour of an Empire Day. The Agent General for New Brunswick writes— I am entirely in Sympathy with your object. The Prime Minister of New Zealand, in his reply to me, writes— I need hardly say that I am strongly of opinion that the establishment of such a day would be fraught with much good to the Empire. The Postmaster-General of Canada writes— The Object meets with my most cordial approval. The Prime Minister of Newfoundland writes— I am entirely in accord with your views, and shall have much pleasure in aiding the movement. Lord Milner says— Your proposal to establish an Empire Day is one which has my sympathy. Lord Grenfell, the Governor of British Honduras, the Governor of Jamaica, and the Governor of Mauritius write very much in the same way, and I have also received letters from a number of Indian princes expressing approval of the proposal. After this unanimous expression, I shall indeed be disappointed if His Majesty's Government do not seize this splendid opportunity of taking the lead in a movement which, in future years, will be regarded as having exercised no inconsiderable influence on the strengthening and consolidation of the British Empire.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION (The Marquess of LONDONDERRY)

My Lords, I trust my noble friend will not censure me when I say that I do not think it is possible for me to follow him over the whole of the ground covered in his interesting speech. I shall confine myself to briefly answering the Questions put to me by the noble Earl. Although I fear that my answer will not be thoroughly satisfactory to my noble friend, still in the object which he has in view he has my entire sympathy. In the first place, my noble friend asks me whether in the schools connected with my Department, I will lay greater stress than at present on the teaching of the history and geography of the Colonies and Dependencies of the Empire. In reply to that question, I have to say that history and geography naturally occupy a very important place in the Code;but it would be with great hesitation and reluctance that I would propose at the present moment to add to that Code by insisting on the teaching of certain details of history and geography in the elementary schools. But the Colonies are not lost sight of in the Code. My noble friend will see that the instruction to be given to the pupil teachers includes the subjects of Africa, America and Australia, with special reference to the chief British Colonies and Dependencies and the United States.

THE EARL OF MEATH

That applies to pupil teachers.

THE MARQUEES OF LONDONDERRY

That is so. I merely mentioned it to show that the matter was not lost sight of. But I do not see why the Code might not be to a certain extent enlarged in the direction which the noble Earl indicated, and there is one very attractive way in which these questions might be brought to the attention of the children of this country. Your Lordships, no doubt, have in your mind the tour accomplished recently by the Prince and Princess of Wales, and it may be that some of your Lordships have read the elaborate work describing the tour written by Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace. It is, to my mind, an interesting, instructive, and attractive work, and I am informed that it will shortly be condensed and published in a cheaper form. I would be glad to see the managers of schools take advantage of that work in their schools, and, in doing so, they would receive every encouragement at my hands. Communications are now taking place between the Board of Education and the Colonial Office with regard to extending a knowledge of the Colonies among children in England, and a knowledge of England among the children of the Colonies, and a Committee has been formed to carry Mr. Chamberlain's proposal into effect. On that Committee there will be a repersentative of the Board of Education.

The noble Earl next asked whether I would suggest to the school authorities that May 24th in each year, being the anniversary of the birth of Her late Majesty, Queen Victoria, might very appropriately be called "Empire day," and be kept as a half-holiday by the scholars attending State-aided schools, and that the remainder of the day might be spent by them in exercises of a patriotic character, and in pleasant instruction in matters appertaining to the Empire and its responsibilities. This part of the question also has my entire sympathy, but my noble friend must go to an authority far greater and more influential than I am for the carrying out of his suggestion for an "Empire day." With regard to observing such a day as a half-holiday, I should be very unwilling to move in such a matter and interfere with the managers of the schools in reference to school attendance. The time, I hope, is not far distant when the local authorities will be associated with these managers, and I am most anxious that when that day comes the local authorities should co-operate cordially with the Board of Education. I cannot help thinking that those bodies in the future, and the managers at present, would look askance at the President of the Board of Education if they thought he was taking matters which were really in their prerogative out of their hands. I will, however, again assure my noble friend of my entire sympathy, and, if it is possible to carry out his suggestions, he will find in the Board of Education the most hearty co-operation.