Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 07.djvu/110

* ENGLAND. 88 ENGLAND. len Ida n mth niptoii Population 114,815 112.982 110.926 104,933 104,911 102,519 61 ,265 107.573 99 857 85,692 88,926 94,140 97.714 82,126 71.343 following table gives the area and popula- an> ient or geographical counties and . of their growth for the deeade 1891- 1901. Most of the rural counties register but tse; indeed, in some eases an actual ise is shown: Population' COUNTY Miles 1891 1901 466 72 > 743 859 1.027 1,357 2,605 9SS 1,011 1,542 840 1,881 824 2.646 2.014 1.003 2,016 -1 1 162 1,343 1.171 1 ,4S9 1 ,468 788 7.M 1,158 2,125 160,704 730,058 528,033 631,808 194.511 1. 786,445

116,949 1,142 3,926.760 472,878 8,261 30 ' 1 1 1,088 108 371,235 11,843 264 991 418,760 2,489 171.249 254,931 Buckinghamshire.... 190,687 814,555 322.957 266,921 202,962 i.i 7 324 lire 634,666 798,756 114.401 260,350 57,773 1,351,849

4,406,787 4311, 094 498,781 Mlddlea 1 Monmouthsl Norfolk 3,585,189 292.327 16 ' . hainsliiri' 338,064 9 514.537 182,768 19,708 •.'39.321 508,104 1,234,382 Suffolk 2 008,923 04 3115 278 845 hire— g 488,401 Weal Rldin< 393,143 60,680 30,805,466 i he extension of educat iona I i rucl ion for all, is a recent i i "in i he li r- — i . i he quest inn of re- nt ml factor in determii the educational Hue the efforts of the ilf of i n eonflm d almost in oiil <if ilrroiiiin.il ional or pri boards '. ii who are inde pendent rate-payers being entitled to vote. By the cumulative system of voting, minority religious sects are able to secure representation on Hie board. School attendance committors arc ap- pointed in districts where there are no school boards. There is a compulsory act for the attend- ance of children of 11 years of age and under and from 12 to 14 there is compulsory attend- ance, but with provision for conditional exemp- tion. Parliamentary aid is given to poor dis- tricts in which the local rates are not adequate. Aid is also given to voluntary (denominational or private) schools in districts not provided with lard schools, the grant being upon the basis of average attendance. In the administrative coun- ties, excluding London and the county boroughs, the attendance at the voluntary schools much ex- ceeds that of the board schools; but in London and the county boroughs the reverse is true. Tuition, since 1891, has been practically free. In 1900 the total attendance at the inspected schools was 5,686,114. the average attendance being 4,666,130. Non-sectarian religious instruc- tion is given at the board schools : but such in- struction must be either at the beginning or end of the school meeting, and any child may be withdrawn by his parents from such instruction. At the voluntary schools sectarian instruction may lie given. In 1900 the control of elementary education was vested in a Board of Education, this body taking the place of the Education De- partment and the Department of Science and Art. Illiteracy is rapidly decreasing, as is shown by the decreasing number of person-, who sign the marriage registers by mark, these amounting in 1899 to 2.9 per cent, of the males and 3.4 per rent, of the females. Secondary education is not yet organized. Heavy grants have been made for technical edu- cation, but the interpretation of the meaning of the term 'technical instruction' was such that it included all secondary education except the dead languages, and thus secondary instruction profit- ed from the grants rather than the purely tech- nical branches. The evening continuation schools for the most part cover the field of secondary instruction, and have attained a remarkable growth. In 1900. 206,335 pupils were in average attendance at 5363 of these evening schools. Much is being done also both in the field of secondary and of higher education by the development of university extension work. The question of means ami methods for providing better secondary educational facilities is one of the primary points of consideration in the educational controversy which has become so acute in England, At the beginning of the nineteenth century Ox- ford and Cambridge were the only English uni- versities. During that, century lour others were added, of which London rniversity, established in lS.'Ki, has the largest faculty and attendance of any English university. Durham University was established in 1831, Victoria University in'l880, and Birmingham I diversity in 1900. Religion, England has an established state Chun h, commonly called the Church of England. However, there are numerous dissenting churches, and in attendance and membership throughout the country, the state Church is supposed to lead by a i, rily only. The faith of I he Oil inch. since the Reformation, is known as Protestant Episcopal; but, while the nunc includes the whole organization, as a matter of fact the Church mem-
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