sacrifice of time, trouble, and expense, have carried it on for five years, is that it has produced and is producing much good.

The subject of night schools is one which I feel must demand much more attention than it has hitherto received.

Compulsory attendance at school is, probably, out of the question, at all events at the present time. Without this it is absurd to suppose that the generality of the poor will send those children to a day school who can earn by labour weekly sums amounting to a half, a quarter, or a sixth of that earned by their fathers.

The improvement of existing schools, no doubt, effects a certain alteration in the attendance for the better; but this alteration will never be sufficient to induce the labouring poor, as a general rule, to deny themselves that amount of. money which their children can earn. The attendants who can earn, therefore, will always be exceptional, and the only children whose attendance can be calculated upon will be those who cannot earn.

The demand for juvenile labour being great, it follows that a large portion of juveniles will be withheld from the day school.

For these the night school appears at present to offer the principal means of instruction. The truth of this is beginning to be felt, and the result is the commencement of these institutions in different places, as above referred to.

A considerable modification of our ordinary organization and methods will, I think, be necessary before these schools will fulfil their end. Accurate classification is almost impossible; and the difficulty of prosecuting any continuous train of thought by children more or less physically exhausted is extremely great. Oral teaching, of a lively and impressive character, with graphic description and copious illustration on black-board, &c., would appear to be among the best means of securing attention.

School libraries have been occasionally established. They are important in the work of education; and grants from your Lordships in aid of the purchase of books would, I feel sure, produce beneficial results.

To persons ignorant of the domestic habits of our labouring poor, the establishment of such institutions frequently appears useless, or worse. But, independently of those general laws which oblige every one to assist his brother in obtaining those sources of pleasure and profit which should be common to all, there are peculiar circumstances connected with the domestic habits of our poor which make the provision of quiet rooms, to which they may retire, of more than ordinary

importance. On these grounds I feel confident that the opening of every village library has a very important bearing upon the moral as well as the intellectual improvement of a parish.

The same remarks will apply to popular lectures. There is a marked extension of these. The subjects appear to be for the most part judiciously selected, being of a literary and scientific character, and well calculated to interest those classes of society for whom they are provided.

The training colleges at Saltley and Culham,-one for the diocese of Worcester, the other for the diocese of Oxford,are finished, and will, I trust, make adequate provision for their respective districts.

The proposed training institution for schoolmistresses for the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol is progressing favourably.

Some schoolmasters' associations have been established in the district, which, if well regulated, and restricted to the operations proposed, will, I think, be serviceable in promoting a kindly spirit among teachers, in circulating among them the most approved methods of instruction and school management, and in encouraging mutual improvement in their studies.

In the Appendix will be found returns from different schools in the district, illustrating some of the subjects above alluded to. I have the honor to be, &c.,

To the Right Honorable

The Lords of the Committee of Council on Education.

H. W. BELLAIRS.

APPENDIX A.

:

The Committee of Council make grants to industrial schools as follows :One half of the rent;

One third of the tools;

And a gratuity to the master for instruction in horticulture.

Grants for books are made by their Lordships to the extent of one third of the amount.

The prices of books on their Lordships' schedules are much lower than the usual publishing price.

Schedules may be had on application to "The Secretary of the Committee of Council on Education, Council Office, Downing Street, London."

ON SCHOOL-PAYMENTS, AND CHILDREN PURCHASING

BOOKS.

SHIRLEY, WARWICKSHIRE.

Population 1,100, engaged in Agriculture.

No resident proprietors of large property the farmers generally small; wages from 10s. to 12s. per week.

New schools opened in 1852. Under master and mistress. On the mixed plan.

The old rate of payment was 1d. per head, the school providing books, &c. The children were exclusively those of labourerers.

The new rate of payment is from 1d. to 6d., according to the condition of the parents. All instructed alike. The labourers children will probably be taken away for work at eleven or twelve years of age; the farmers at fourteen or fifteen. There are now, along with children of labourers, who have increased in number, forty children of farmers and tradesmen in regular attendance, many of them travelling six miles daily. Some of these have been taken from boarding schools, where the charges were thirty guineas per The introduction of children of a higher grade has produced a marked change on the others; personal cleanliness is more attended to, and ragged and dirty clothes rarely seen. A kindly feeling has arisen among the children. The lessons are prepared at home at night.

annum.

Under the old regimen the stipends paid to teachers were 451.; they are now 1531.

CHELTENHAM, TRINITY.

The payments till the end of the first quarter in 1849 were 1d. weekly. The annual receipts amounted to 341. In the spring of 1849 the weekly payment was raised, and now ranges from 2d. to 4d. The attendance has increased; the number of poor not less, and the receipts for the present year will be at least 761.

TRINITY SCHOOL Pence Account for the year 1852.

Account of books, &c., sold to the children and teachers.

The children's account, exclusive of the pupil-teachers, would be as follows:-

The number of children who have already paid in advance this quarter, viz., January 1853, is as follows:

The school payments for the last year in the boys' school have been 581. 2s. 94d.; of this tradesmen's sons, at the rate of 6d. per week, have paid 211. 6s. The receipts are increasing; for the week ending 31st of October they were 11. 6s. 3d.

UPTON ST. LEONARD'S, GLOUCESTERSHIRE.

A graduated payment was introduced in the present year of ld. and 2d. per week, and 6s. per quarter. The senior classes purchase some of their own books. The receipts for six months show an increase of 77. 10s. There are seven children of farmers and two of tradesmen in attendance.

THE SCUDAMORE BOYS SCHOOL, Hereford.

This school was opened on the 7th of June. Up to the present date sixty boys have been admitted, each having been required to purchase the readingbook of his class, which, in every instance, was done without complaint.

HEREFORD, BLUECOAT.

From January 12 to June 17, 1852, books sold in boys' school, 67. 8s.; in girls' school, 31. 8s.

The plan answers remarkably well. The parents and children equally pleased. The master is in the habit of giving lectures on elementary chemistry, &c., illustrating every-day things. On one occasion lately he expressed a regret at not having sufficient apparatus for the object in hand. In a few days the children, of their own accord, brought upwards of 15s. in pence, and said they meant to make it up to a pound. This shows the efforts parents and children will make when education is made to tell on their every-day occupations.

EATON-BISHOP, HEREFORDShire.

Hours of attendance from ten to three; half an hour allowed for dinner. The parents, children, and teachers like it. During the last winter the attendance was more regular and punctual; no afternoon absentees. They work in the evening with their parents.

The children purchase their own books; the plan is most successful. The children devote their little earnings, presents, &c., to this end. In one instance, when the child was unable to bring the requisite sum, his classfellows joined and provided it. They prepare their lessons at home. The parish is agricultural. Rate of wages 7s. per week.

From October 1850 to October 1851 the children purchased 485 readingbook, 320 copy-books, 18 quires of paper, 144 slates, at a cost of 147.

The expenses of books are calculated to be, for the first class, 4s. Od.; for the second class, 2s. 84d.; for the third class, ls. 101⁄2d.; for the fourth class, 24d. per annum. The children are supplied with religious books from the Sunday school fund.

Attached to the school is a very excellent library, containing 270 volumes, free of access to the children.

BIRMINGHAM, St. Paul's.

It was resolved unanimously, at a special meeting of the committee, held at St. Paul's schools on Tuesday the 9th instant, that, on the recommendation of the Rev. H. W. Bellairs, Her Majesty's Inspector of Schools, the rates of payment for the respective classes of children in the boys' school be, after Christmas, as follows :

The children of manufacturers and shopkeepers, 9d. per week (or 7s. 6d. per quarter, paid in advance).

The children of journeymen, 6d. per week,

The children of other working men (as usual), 3d. per week.

15 December 1851.

The following Summary will show the Statistics of the School from the
beginning of 1851 to the present time:—

This school was opened in 1849, and the ground attached (177 poles) was divided into sixty-eight allotments, viz., fourteen of four poles, twenty-three of three, twenty-one of two, and ten of one. These allotments are let to the best boys at 6d. a pole. The boys in the first class are allowed to have four poles, in the second three, in the third two, in the fourth and fifth one pole a a piece.

When a boy leaves school he is required to give up his allotment. His crops are valued by two of the senior boys, and his successor pays him the full price. Every Wednesday afternoon is devoted to gardening. This is found to be sufficient, as most of the boys come after school-hours. Every encouragement is given them to do so. When their work is over, there is an excellent play-ground (148 feet by 108), in which they amuse themselves till dark.