but young persons are tempted by the instinct of weariness to bring their connexion with the school to a hasty and premature conclusion. As a rule, boys and girls of sixteen and seventeen do not make their appearance in Sundayschools; and, in those exceptional cases where they do, it is not unusual to hear complaints of their unruly conduct and their determined self-will-no unnatural consequence of the absence of moral control during six days, followed by imperfect and unmethodical efforts to enforce it on the seventh.

That something more might be done with Sunday towards advancing the moral, intellectual, and religious training of the youth of the working classes there can be no doubt. To effect this, however, it will be necessary to get rid of certain ingrained habits of routine. and conventionality. We must learn to apprehend, more clearly than is generally done, the full significance of the position that "the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath." There must be some bold and felicitous innovations. Short, simple, and adapted religious services must, in the case of all under a certain age, be allowed to supersede, or rather to prepare the way for the full orthodox measure of public worship. A system of teaching must be adopted which shall not only instruct but allure. Interesting illustrations of Bible history, oral descriptions of those countries which are the fields of missionary labour, practical lessons on the social and moral virtues, a methodical but not unduly dogmatic exposition of Christian doctrine based on the apostles' creed, are amongst the obvious and easily available materials for furnishing forth such a system of teaching.

Again, the services of educated christian men and women must be more extensively enlisted; and, by a sufficient sub-division of labour and a sufficient variety of work, many may be induced to co-operate, while none are required to make too complete and continuous a sacrifice of their time and attention. Finally, it would be of great advantage to interweave with the Sunday-school

system some sober and rational kinds of recreation. Sacred music would serve this purpose, as would also the reading aloud by a skilful and accomplished reader of select poetry or prose.

On the whole, however, the Sunday by itself supplies a very imperfect opportunity of carrying on the moral and intellectual training of the youth of the working classes. The work which it allows of must be supported and seconded by other agencies.

any

II. What else, then, have we at hand for the purpose? There is the MECHANICS' INSTITUTE. It is now some thirty-five or thirty-six years since Mechanics' Institutes were first established, under the auspices of Dr. Birkbeck, and the patronage of Lord Brougham. The original design of these institutions was not so much to educate as to afford opportunities for self-education. Educate indeed they could not, for they had no provision in their constitution or machinery for doing so. They did not pretend, except very indirectly, to exercise moral influence; they neither initiated nor carried on any processes of mental training. They opened readingrooms; they established libraries; they provided courses of lectures on miscellaneous subjects. It is obvious, then, that they presupposed a taste for reading, a thirst for knowledge, a craving for self-improvement. They could only do a little, through the zeal of their promoters and the eloquence of their lecturers, to awaken these appetites. In the main, the supply took for granted the demand. And, as the demand was not great amongst the class for whom the Institutes were designed, the supply hung on hand. Mechanics' Institutes were not very actively patronized or supported; and the patronage and support which they did receive, came not from mechanics, but from the class above them. This was very soon seen. Lord Brougham referred to it in a speech delivered by him at the Manchester Institute, in 1835. There were, it seems, "nearly 1,400 indi"viduals actually subscribing and placing at the disposal of the directors a fund "quite sufficient to bear the current ex

"penses, without involving the institution "in debt and difficulty." But these 1400 individuals were of the middle, and not of the working class. And this condition of things has characterized nearly every Institute throughout the country. When the middle classes have not come forward to maintain the Institute, the Institute has generally died of atrophy. One great reason of this is obvious enough. The middle classes had just such a measure of preparatory education as qualified them to take advantage of Mechanics' Institutes; the working classes did not reach that standard.

But this circumstance does not justify us in saying that Institutes have been a failure. It is something that they have found amongst the middle classes persons glad to take advantage of them. At the same time it must be confessed that, even with any class, theirs has been a very partial and imperfect success. There are, it is said, about eight hundred Institutes in the country; and their members are estimated at 130,000 in the aggregate. Of these 130,000 nearly one-half belong, as might be expected, to Yorkshire and Lancashire. On the whole, then, we see that fewer than one per cent. of the population are connected with Mechanics' Institutes; and we cannot, therefore, build much upon their assistance in accomplishing the work of popular education.

Efforts have, however, been made from time to time to extend their influence and increase their efficiency. One obvious expedient was to place them, as much as possible, under the management of the class for whose use they are intended; and accordingly the directorate of most Institutes contains a certain proportion of working men.

Again, the Institutes of a particular district have sought to strengthen themselves by entering into union. Among these the Yorkshire Union of Mechanics' Institutes is prominent. Its affairs are managed by a President, two Vice-presidents, a Treasurer, two Secretaries, and ten members of Committee; it holds annual meetings, which are attended by delegates from each Institute in union;

it arranges for delivery and interchange of lectures; it employs an agent, whose business it is to visit different Institutes for the purpose of lecturing, organizing, inspecting, and advising. The advantages derived from such a union are necessarily confined to countenance and sympathy, advice and direction. There

is no intercommunion of funds, no interference with the internal management of the local establishments; each Institute must rely for success on its own resources, and finds the benefit of co-operation simply in the rules and examples furnished for its guidance, and in the prestige attached to a widely extended association.

The plan pursued in connexion with the lecture department has often been referred to as a weak point in the constitution of Mechanics' Institutes.

A

The usual practice is to provide a succession of lectures, to be delivered weekly or fortnightly during the session. Now, these lectures are, for the most part, isolated and unconnected with one another. There is no attempt at securing anything like a systematic course. lecture on history will be followed by one on science, while the scientific lecture will, in its turn, be succeeded by a disquisition on literature or morals, or perhaps on some social question. It is obvious, therefore, that these lectures are of no great value in an educational point of view. They furnish the public with a few hours of intellectual pastime and recreation, but they do not contribute much toward the instruction of the ignorant or the guidance of the student.

It may very naturally be asked why the managers of Institutes do not set on foot a systematic series of lectures—why, for instance, they do not offer to their supporters and the public a course on English History at one time; a course on Political Economy or on some department of Physical Science at another. But an experiment of this kind was, I believe, tried at Bradford, and failed. One great difficulty would be to find lecturers. No one man would be able or willing to make himself responsible for an entire course; and it would be no

easy matter to preserve unity and coherence if a single subject were to be portioned out among a number of manipulators. Moreover, audiences like variety, and frequent lectures as much for the sake of entertainment as instruction. Still, perhaps, something might be done in this way; and, if so, the usefulness of Institutes as places of education would be proportionally increased. At all events, the lecturing system might be turned to better account as a means of stimulating a desire for knowledge, and of guiding the student to profitable courses of reading, and approved methods of study. It might also be made more use of to awaken attention to matters connected with health, economy, diet, habits and manners of daily life.

The desire to popularize Mechanics' Institutes, to secure for them a greater degree of support than they are able to achieve by their literary and scientific character, has led to the frequent practice of introducing musical and other entertainments into the programme. This tendency has been severely denounced by the more rigid and uncompromising champions of intellectual progress. They consider it a sign of degeneracy and an unworthy condescension to popular weakness. And unquestionably it scarcely harmonizes with the original constitution and design of Mechanics' Institutes. But, without stopping now to examine or discuss the question, I may find occasion, before bringing this paper to a close, to consider whether, in making provision for the entertainment of the people, we are not doing something for their education.

The consciousness, however, that Mechanics' Institutes were not enlisting the sympathy and support of the masses has of late years brought about a very important change, and introduced a very important novelty into their organization. The truth was apprehended that the great body of the people were not educated up to the standard which would qualify them to read books and profit by lectures. Hence an effort was made to remedy

of

this defect by the institution of nightclasses, where different branches learning, more or less elementary, might be communicated to such pupils as chose to attend. This plan has now been very generally adopted, and constitutes the most useful and practical feature of ordinary institutes. An obvious difficulty in connexion with these classes has been the securing of a sufficient number of competent teachers. In most cases, recourse has necessarily been had to voluntary aid, and the classes have often suffered from the uncertainty, irregularity, imperfection, and want of method commonly attendant on voluntary service.

Again, the experiment has not always been successful in other respects. The classes have frequently been scantily filled, and the members of them have been irregular in their attendance. It is, however, satisfactory to know that the success has generally been proportionate to the goodness of the arrangements, and the zeal and efficiency of the teachers. The results of the experiment so far tend to show a wide-spread deficiency in the most elementary subjects of education. Thus, in the Yorkshire Union of Institutes, while above 5000 pupils were in attendance on the classes for reading, writing, and arithmetic, scarcely 900 were engaged in the study of grammar and composition, and the Natural Science classes did not contain, in the aggregate, more than 100 members. A similar condition of things appears in the Report of the "East Lancashire Union of Institutions having Evening Schools."

III. The plan adopted by Mechanics' Institutes indicates the direction in which we must look for the means of carrying on, to a more successful issue, the work of National Education. There is an increasing conviction, that if that work is to be done at all, it must be done through the agency of NIGHT SCHOOLS; and, accordingly, the experiment of Night Schools is in course of trial, not only in connexion with Institutes, but under the auspices of the clergy, the various dissenting denomina

tions, mill-owners, and other employers of labour, and philanthropic landed proprietors.

Here again we may appeal to the judgment of the Education Commissioners. They enter with some minuteness into the subject of Evening Schools; they take a general survey of the efforts now making to carry them on, they discuss the difficulties and requirements involved, and they make the following recommendation in reference to them :"That, inasmuch as Evening Schools "appear to be a most effective and popular means of education, the atten"tion of the Committee of Council be "directed to the importance of organ"izing them more perfectly, and ex"tending them more widely than at "present."-Vol. i. p. 547.

The question then is, Are we to fall back on Night Schools as the best hope of Popular Education? It is a question which deserves to be examined and discussed.

In the first place, it must be conceded that the Day School is an imperfect agent in the work, from no fault of its own, but simply from the inevitable condition that it loses its pupils before it has had the opportunity of making them thoroughly proficient in the elements of knowledge. I call this condition inevitable, because it seems to be one which must continue in force as long as the openings for the employment of children in various kinds of labour are as numerous as they are at present, or until some scheme of compulsory education redresses the grievance, and perhaps generates other grievances in doing so. On this latter alternative I will not dwell. Compulsory education has undoubtedly succeeded so far as it has been tried in England, as the working of the half-time system in factories sufficiently proves; but it does not follow that it will be equally successful if extended, and made applicable to the whole body of youthful workers throughout the country-for it is easier to deal with children collected into masses and brought together in some great centre of employment than with children scat

tered through a wide parish and at the disposal of numerous employers.

It is argued, too, that, though the sentimentalist may deplore the sacrifice of the tender years of childhood to the engrossing demands of labour, and though the friend of social and intellectual progress may complain of the necessary check thus given to the cause of education, yet the provision is on the whole a fortunate and a merciful one, for that they whose lot in life is to be manual and physical labour should for their own sake be initiated early-that thus only will they acquire that dexterity which ensures full productiveness, and that use which is second nature. I am not prepared to indorse this view, but I cannot afford time or space to contravene it. The point to which I wish to call renewed attention is the simple fact that, as things are, the children of the working classes are almost universally thrown out of education at the age of twelve, and that, when they leave school, their really available attainments are limited to a moderate facility in reading and writing, with a more or less accurate knowledge of the ordinary rules of arithmetic.

Night-schools, or something equivalent, must be the machinery resorted to. The name is not essential-in some cases, perhaps, will be better dispensed with-but the thing, in some shape, we must have.

I have already said that a good deal is doing in this direction. I could refer to many examples of very fairly successful night-schools, though I am bound to say I know also of some cases where the experiment has resulted in complete and even discreditable failure.

The night-schools connected with the Farnley Iron Works, near Leeds, deserve to be mentioned as showing how much may be done when patrons are liberal and teachers able and zealous. In these schools a very considerable number of young persons receive instruction during five nights in the week. Many of them have made good progress in grammar and composition, and in elementary mathematics. Lectures in

history are delivered, illustrating the nature and growth of our political constitution; a class of more advanced pupils meets for discussion; and occasional readings from our standard literature diversify and relieve the ordinary course of study.

A very useful work is going on under the auspices of the East Lancashire Union of Institutes having nightschools. Fourteen Institutes belong to this union, and each Institute has a night-school attached to it. Each nightschool is conducted by a paid teacher, who is assisted by a paid candidate for the office of teacher, and by such volunteer teachers as can be enlisted in the service. Moreover, the Union maintains two organizing masters who itinerate, and are required "to spend about "three hours of five nights in each week "in the personal instruction of the "classes of the several institutions." Saturday evening is devoted to a weekly class lecture. A system of examinations and prizes has also been introduced. The programme of studies is tolerably extensive, but the higher subjects are cultivated by a very limited number. For instance, the whole number of pupils is 1,244-while the number studying English history is 158; the number studying algebra, 15; Euclid, 33; chemistry, 44.

Reference may also be made to what is going on in connexion with the nightschool movement in the manufacturing and mining districts of Cheshire and Staffordshire. From the report of the Rev. J. P. Norris, it appears that in 1857 upwards of fifty such schools were in operation in his district, and that clergymen, colliery owners, iron masters, and manufacturers, were all working in different ways to help on the movement. Probably there are few large towns in the country where the experiment has not been tried on a greater or less scale and generally with a certain amount of

success.

The rural districts are in a less favourable position for such a work, and those who wish to carry it on there have many difficulties to contend with.

zeal and energy will do much to

overcome these difficulties; and instances may be found where, in default of other agency, the clergyman himself has sacrificed some of his evenings to the task of school keeping, and has found his reward in doing so.

What has been said proves clearly that there is a wide-spread feeling as to the necessity of carrying on a system of evening instruction in schools and classes; it remains to consider how it may best be done, and what are the difficulties and hindrances in the way of doing it. The first and most indispensable condition is to secure the pupils. And it must be remembered that we want especially to get hold of young persons between the ages of twelve and eighteen. The tendency in nightschools has hitherto been to reject those who, from their extreme youth, ought, in the opinion of educational theorists, to be attending the day-school. There is some excuse for this policy; but it must be abandoned if night-schools are to be generally and permanently useful. Children between the ages of twelve and fourteen will certainly not be at school, let educational theorists theorise as they please. If, therefore, they are to wait two or three years before they can be admitted into the night-school, they will spend those years in forgetting what they have previously learned in the day-school, and in learning what the night-schoolwhen they do enter it-will scarcely be able to make them forget.

This one position, then, I desire most emphatically to insist on, that the nightschool must be open to receive boys and girls as soon as ever they cease to attend the day-school. There must be no interval-for, if there is, it will be the opposite of a lucid one; it will do much to darken the light already let in on the understanding, and to blunt whatever edge school influences may have set on the sensibilities and the conscience.

Moreover, it will be very much easier to secure the attendance of the scholars if the transfer to the night-school is to be immediate. The moment when a boy is leaving school belongs to the