influence. He did not expect very much from prize schemes. Their benefits were doubtful. He would much prefer to have children doing right from a real love for it, than from being bribed to do it.

The Chairman then called upon Mr. Turner, of Bristol, to move a resolution and read the third paper.

Mr. Turner then moved a resolution that a Western Union of Public Teachers should be formed, and read an able and interesting paper in support of it. The general argument went to show that education is admitted to be the question of the day, yet the opinion of the professional educator is too commonly ignored. This is accounted for by our own disunion, or the absence of professional standing before the public. The general union of the body of teachers was pleaded for because they have to do high professional work—the human mind being the basis of operation, and also the instrument. The science of psychology is pre-eminently the teacher's science, yet hardly recognised by any existing authorities, mere technical information (the tools and appliances of our work) being generally substituted. Hence the little progress. Union was urged as necessary for the body of educators to assume their proper position. They have unitedly many errors to root out, and many truths to plant touching their work. It should be shown how teachers have themselves sacrificed personal considerations to love of their work and the good of society. The pupil-teacher system, which had never yet been looked at from the stand-point of practical teaching, presented an example of disinterested work on a large scale, seldom paralleled. Mr. Turner went on to show that all were necessary, from the higher class schools to the most humble, and all were urged to act together, taking the tie of common occupation as the one ground of union. Mr. Turner received the thanks of the meeting for his excellent

paper.

Mr. Houlstone moved the appointment of a committee to carry out arrangements for the formation of the Union, which was seconded by Mr. Rich, of Wotton. under-Edge.

His lordship having vacated the chair, it was taken by Mr. Commissioner Hill, who moved a vote of thanks to the noble lord.

The vote of thanks was carried by acclamation.

ON PRIZE AND CERTIFICATE SCHEMES.-No. I.

ONE of the most important questions discussed at the recent Educational Conference was that relating to the expediency of a further extension of prize and certificate schemes. It will be seen, from the details given in another part of this number, that one section was wholly devoted to inquiries on this point. The Rev. J. P. Norris, who is known to have devoted much thought and time to the development of a prize scheme for Staffordshire and Shropshire, detailed at some length the results of that scheme, and expressed a desire for the wider extension of a similar plan. His own experiences on this subject, some of which are exceedingly interesting, are given in the form of a special report appended to the new volume of the Minutes of Council on Education. There are, however, two objections, which appear to us fatal to any very general or permanent adoption of a prize scheme. In the first place, the financial difficulty is a serious one. The funds required to furnish money prizes on a large scale to all the most deserving pupils in our elementary schools would necessarily be very large-too large, in fact, to be supplied by voluntary contributions. In the second place, we doubt whether it is desirable to rely much on pecuniary prizes as incentives to diligence in school work. In exceptional cases they are doubtless very valuable; and the employers of labour in the Potteries and other districts, in which education has been much neglected, have done wisely in applying this stimulus. In many such cases a public opinion in favour of education needs to be created; and nothing short of a money prize will serve to rouse parents from their sluggish indifference, or furnish children with a motive to perseverance and continuous attendance at school. But it would be a great mistake to regard this state of things as a normal or a healthy one. For the present it may be both

right and necessary to employ public funds as a bait by which parents may be lured into some sort of appreciation of the blessings of education for their children. We feel, however, that such an appropriation of public money (whether granted by the Treasury, or raised in the form of rates, or from voluntary subscriptions) cannot long be a legitimate one; and that any undue dependence upon such a scheme will tend to discourage self-reliance, and the feeling of moral responsibility among the English poor.

The proposal to organize a system of granting certificates appears to us, therefore, a more valuable one, and one which, while it will admit of far more extended and permanent application, will at the same time help forward the work of education in a sounder and more hopeful manner. We propose, therefore, in the present and a subsequent paper, to investigate the conditions under which it is to be desired that such certificates should be granted, and the principles which ought to be kept in view in organizing a general scheme on the subject.

Two or three facts may be assumed at the outset :-1st. That children are removed from school at an earlier age than formerly, and at an earlier age than is good for them. 2nd. It has been found that improved teaching and increased efficiency in primary schools has not checked the evil; but that, on the contrary, it has only furnished an excuse for withdrawing children from school sooner than before. 3rd. That this early removal from school may be traced to two causes-to the increasing demand for juvenile and unskilled labour consequent on the growth of mechanical inventions; and to the want of appreciation, if not the apathy, of the majority of poor parents, in regard to all education beyond the simplest rudiments. 4th. That any positive legal prohibition, as to the employment of children whose instruction has been neglected, would at present be regarded as an unconstitutional interference with parental rights, as well as with the freedom of the labour market, and cannot now be attempted; but, 5th, that, short of any legal provision of this kind, no other course would be so effectual as to prove to the parents that a thorough course of education was the best passport to respectable employment. It may be that we are not justified in interfering with the absolute right of a parent over his child; but we can appeal to his self-interest, and make it evident that the boy without education cannot be fairly equipped for the competition and struggle of life. 6th. That to this end certificates of having gone through a creditable school-course should be granted to young people who have passed a certain examination, and should be authenticated by responsible persons. Lastly. That means should be taken to cause the value of such certificates to be generally recognised by the employers of labour, and to make them ultimately indispensable to all young persons who seek to enter even the humblest trades and occupations.

There are two ways in which the examination test may be applied to all students, whether old or young. It may, in the first place, be intended as a final test of the success of a particular course of instruction, and may be strictly limited to those who, having regularly passed through such a course, can give evidence that they have submitted to a certain discipline, and received a certain training and instruction during a specified time. Or, on the other hand, the test may be one of acquirement only, open to all candidates, and intended to measure the amount of knowledge they possess, without any reference to the means by which that knowledge was obtained. The important question for consideration is, which of these two forms of test shall be applied to the children of our elementary schools? Shall the certificate examination follow the analogy of a university degree, and be only open to those who fulfil definite conditions in regard to age, behaviour, and regularity of attendance at school, or shall it be accessibie on easy terms to all who choose to apply, and who can answer questions satisfactorily?

We believe the whole success of the examination scheme depends on the adoption of the former alternative. For it should be remembered that the object should be

not only to do justice in individual cases, by fairly recognizing and certifying merit whenever it exists, but also to take care that all we do has a tendency to promote the efficiency of primary schools, and to maintain a high standard of discipline and attainment in them. It is quite conceivable that a scheme of examination may serve one of these purposes, and not the other;—it may, in fact, appear to be the best for testing individual acquirements, and yet, at the same time, indirectly exert a very mischievous influence on the management snd regimen of schools generally; and on the interests of those who are not subjected to the examination.

The same question will also be found to have an important influence on the standard which the scheme of examination should set up. For, if it be determined that a certificate entitling the holder to employment is to guarantee proficiency in book-knowledge alone, it is obvious that the standard of acquirement will have to be fixed much higher than if it testifies to diligence, good behaviour, and regular attendance, plus the possession of a certain stock of information. Even if the demands of the examiners be very moderate indeed, a testimonial of this character will have far more moral value, and will probably be regarded as more important to employers than a mere certificate of attainments, however high.

Closely connected with this subject is another question which requires distinct consideration. Should a scheme of this kind aim at discovering and rewarding marked proficiency, or is it only to certify the possession of ordinary knowledge and diligence? Should it be put forth as a prize and a distinction-an object of ambition to the picked boys of a school-or as a reward attainable by all, and designed at least for the large majority of scholars? We think it important to bring a certificate within the reach of every child of ordinary diligence and attention, to cause the examination for it to be regarded as the natural termination of every boy's school course, and to proceed on the assumption that eventually the non-possession of a certificate will be a distinctive disgrace, rather than the possession of it a distinctive merit.

We have before us, in the probable event of the adoption of an examination scheme, an admirable opportunity for checking some of the more serious evils which exist in primary schools, and a new and effective instrument of raising their whole moral tone and character, of strengthening the authority of teachers, of making the entire work of our elementary schools far more systematic than it now is, and of raising the general estimate on the part of the parents both of the importance of education and of their own duties in regard to it.

To the end that the proposed scheme may really effect these purposes, several conditions become necessary which it would not be right to impose, if the sole task were to furnish certificates of attainment. It will be better to enumerate these conditions seriatim.

Arguing à priori, it is easy to regard 14 as the legitimate period for leaving an elementary school. Nevertheless, it is certain that if certificates be only granted to children who have reached that age, the advantages of the scheme will be limited within a very narrow range indeed. The following figures are taken from the Register Books of this year, in four of the largest British Schools in the South of England.

Ages of Children in attendance at School.

On this table, one or two remarks will suffice:-I. That the schools referred to are all in a high state of efficiency, possessing more teaching power, and offering greater educational advantages than formerly. II. That, nevertheless, the per centage is in all cases lower than it was a few years ago. III. That if not 3 per cent. of the whole number in good town schools remain until 14, and scarcely 13 per cent. stay beyond the age of 12, no higher age than this ought to be fixed, as the first condition to be fulfilled by the candidates for certificates.

If twelve be determined on as the minimum age, provision should also be made for encouraging a longer stay at school; and to this end it is desirable either that a higher class of certificate should be awarded as the result of a further and more advanced examination, a year or two later; or else, that the certificate itself, after having been granted at 12 years of age, should receive fresh entries at intervals of one year, recording the amount of further progress which the pupil had made.

A standard requires to be fixed, defining the minimum of attendance to be required on the part of candidates. In connexion with this subject it should be remembered that the early removal of children from school is not after all so great an evil as the broken, desultory, and irregular character of the attendance itself. The results of popular education have proved unsatisfactory, in many cases, not so much because an insufficient period has been allowed to elapse between the time of infancy and that of work, as because that period has been frittered away through the negli gence or caprice of parents. No one, not minutely familiar with the details of elementary schools, is likely to be aware how seriously their efficiency is impaired in this way. Children are not only kept at home on the most frivolous pretences, but they are removed from school to school without assigning any reason; their names are allowed to be taken off the books for a while, and are re-entered again and again. It is difficult to obtain accurate statistics on this point, but we are assured by teachers that the number of re-admissions bears a very large proportion to the whole attendance, and that the number of causeless and capricious interruptions of the school course for long periods, varying from one to twelve months, is very large. In many town schools the annual number of admissions equals the average attendance; in other words, the average duration of each child's stay at school is one year. Yet it appears from a comparison of other statistics that the total average time spent by the children of this class in schools is more than three years. The inference from this, viz., that the mass of children in towns change their schools, or leave and are re-admitted about once every year, is one which we believe will be confirmed by an appeal to the experience of most teachers.

Now here is a practical evil of great magnitude, which it is one of the objects of a certificate scheme to correct. We need not stay to speak of the indolent, unsystematic habits which are generated by these needless removals, nor point out how much time is lost before a child who may have done well in one school begins to run smoothly in a new groove, and do well in another. It is enough to say that, at present, children suffer more, both morally and mentally, by the frequent interruptions of their school course, than by the limitation of the whole period which they are supposed to spend under instruction. And this is an evil which may be met to a great extent by stringent regulations, enforcing regular and unbroken attendance as a condition to be fulfilled before examination.

No more striking proof can be given of the extent to which the evil prevails than the fact that the present arrangements of the Committee of Council prescribe an attendance of only 176 days in the year as the minimum rate in determining the amount of the capitation grant. The assumption is, that there are only forty-four available weeks in the year, and that four days per week, on an average, is a fair attendance. Even this rule is complained of as a grievance in some districts, and it is a very rare thing for four-fifths of the whole number in attendance at a school to reach this standard. But there is little doubt that a much higher scale of regularity

ought to be set before the aspirants after certificates, and that schools generally need to be familiarised with a very different standard from that which prevails in relation to the capitation grant.

If, instead of four days, the minimum average attendance be fixed at four and a half days per week, this would give a total of 198 days in the school year. Although it is so seldom attained now, it is by no means an unattainable standard. Two years at least of continuous attendance at the same school ought also to be insisted on, if any effectual check is really to be given to that practice of frequent removals to which reference has been made. How far it is desirable to permit a relaxation of this rule, in the case of bona fide change of residence on the part of the parents, it is difficult to say; but there can be little doubt that considerable strictness in this respect, however many candidates it may exclude at first, will, in the end, greatly conduce to the improvement of education throughout the country.

There are several other requirements, of considerable importance, relating to the conduct and character as well as to the attainments of those to whom certificates should be awarded. The importance of these subjects forbids us to discuss them all within the narrow limits of the present paper, and we therefore reserve the consideration of them until our next number.

THE SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.

THE suburb of London which has recently received the name of South Kensington is better known to the public as Brompton, and is more accessible to persons residing in the metropolis than is generally supposed. The Museum is scarcely a mile from Hyde Park Corner, and is most conveniently reached by a Brompton or Putney omnibus. The large and not very elegant building which contains the collections has a temporary and somewhat unsubstantial look, and has been erected on a portion of the estate purchased by the Royal Commissioners with the surplus funds arising from the Great Exhibition of 1851; but its internal beauty and fitness for the purposes which it is intended to serve have received far more attention than any external effect. These purposes are not very homogeneous, for the building comprises a museum of patents, a collection of animal and vegetable products, a vast number of architec. tural models and casts, a collection of objects illustrative of the different stages in the history of ornamental art, a sculpture gallery, very complete and efficient schools of design, a gallery of painting, and last, but not least in importance, an educational

museum.

The very miscellaneous character of the entire exhibition has a tendency at first sight to bewilder a visitor, if not to suggest to him the discouraging suspicion that while many things have been attempted, no one department of the undertaking has been thoroughly and successfully perfected; but if the attention be confined, on each visit, to some one of these departments, such an impression will soon disappear. It will be found that although two or three of them are at present incomplete, and are awaiting further development, yet that there is a unity and a wholeness about all which has been already deposited; and that although the collections may be enlarged with advantage, they scarcely admit of a more scientific classification, or a more judicious arrangement.

On entering the building, one of the first apartments attracting attention is that in which the commissioners of patents have deposited the models and other illustrations of recent mechanical inventions. The mechanician may here study the progress of his art during the last half-century, and will be especially interested in a series of models exhibiting the gradual progress of the steam-engine, from Symington's