Page:The Annual Register 1899.djvu/106

 98] ENGLISH HISTOBY. [may

and subsequently the selection of the chairman, Mr. H. Chaplin, to even keener opposition.

The intimation given in the House of Lords that the Govern- ment were prepared to deal with the question of secondary education gave some interest to the Vice-President's annual statement in the House of Commons in moving the education vote (April 28). Sir John Gorst (Cambridge University), in asking for a vote of 8,753,986/. for the cost of education in England and Wales, admitted that, notwithstanding the large additional expenditure of last year, his estimate showed a further increase of 186,240/. Public opinion on the subject of education was making satisfactory progress, as appeared for instance in the hearty welcome accorded to Mr. Eobson's bill for raising the age of compulsory attendance at school. That was the first reform necessary, and without it all other reforms would be nugatory. With regard to the question of irregular attendance, which had been much before the public of late, he should be •extremely disappointed if, when the figures for 1899 were made up, it did not turn out that there had been a great improvement in attendance. As it was, the average rate, which had declined during the years 1895-7, rose in 1898 to 81*66 per cent., the highest attained since the passing of the act of 1870. He had referred last year to the large number of children who were supposed to be attending school as full-time scholars, while employed to such an extent in manual labour that they came to school quite unfit to receive any intellectual instruction at all. He then spoke from conjecture, but the returns ordered had since come in, and they showed that at least 145,000 children were so employed for wages or profit, and there was every reason to believe that these figures were greatly below the truth. The hours of work apparently ranged from ten to seventy a week ; the average earnings did not exceed Is. a head. Sir J. Gorst went on to claim that the department had done its best to increase the number of teachers, and explained the changes about to be introduced. In conclusion, Sir J. Gorst said he understood that his official position and functions were to be the subject of criticism. Powers had often been attributed to him which he did not possess, and in fact the Order in Council of February 25, 1856, which constituted the office he held, simply provided that the Vice-President of the Committee of Council on Education should "act under the direction of the Lord President " and "act for him in his absence." Those were the functions he was appointed to discharge, and he had endeavoured to the best of his ability to perform them. On the vote for 5,153,987/., necessary to complete the sum required, being put from the chair, Mr. Herbert Lewis (Flint Boroughs) moved to reduce the Vice-President's salary by 100/. as a protest against the alleged undue subserviency of the Education Depart- ment to the managers of Church schools. The debate which ensued wandered over many topics. Mr. Birrell (Fifeshire, W.)