Public Schools in England.
The important question of compulsory attendance and of religious instruction in the public schools have been so much discussed in England, as well as in this country, that the status of the controversy and the results of experiment there so far merit our close attention. Though the compulsory education law in this State was repealed by the last Legislature, and was by no means strictly enforced during the two years of its existence, the principle involved has many friends among those specially interested in our schools, who are determined to secure for it yet a full and fair trial. The opposition in England, as here, both against compulsory education and religious instruction in the schools, is strong, and a compromise there has been effected for the present on both points. Until about forty years ago England had no system of public education, and the children of the poorer classes were allowed to grow up without even rudimentary instruction. But the revelations of police courts and the reports of prison authorities, showing that nine-tenths of the convicted criminals were absolutely without any knowledge of the fundamental principles of morality, roused the community and forced the government to provide for free schools, which it did in 1838. Notwithstanding the government in 1870 expended $10,000,000 on her schools besides several millions more voluntarily contributed, little more than half of her 3,200,000 children of suitable age were found to attend. Hence the call for a compulsory law, a modified form of which was adopted by the Forster act of 1870, which declares that “every parent is legally responsible for the proper education of his children.” The compromise local-option or permissive law allows local authorities to make compulsory regulations or not, as they choose, but the hired employment of children is forbidden without a ticket certifying to a certain amount of school attendance. On the whole, the results are reported satisfactory. An increasing number of towns are adopting the compulsory plan, and opposition is gradually decreasing as the new system becomes better known and its beneficial results better appreciated. A similar compromise is that with regard to religious instruction. It is left with the local boards. The Birmingham board and more than sixty others have adopted the secular system. But in London and many of the larger towns and cities religious instruction of an unsectarian character is required for one-half hour each morning. In Birmingham and other places the use of the school-rooms for an hour or half-hour, before the regular school exercises begin, is allowed to the “Religious Education Society,” who volunteer to instruct such children as will attend, which has been less than one-half the whole number thus far. And so the battle of educational ideas goes on apace, much the same in England and America.—San Francisco Post.