Education : its principles and practice / as developed by George Combe ; collated and edited by William Jolly.

  • Combe, George, 1788-1858.
Date:
1879
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Education : its principles and practice / as developed by George Combe ; collated and edited by William Jolly. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    630/860 (page 552)
    admonition of individual wisdom, and his conduct is subject to the unlimited control of the parliamentary constituencies.1 The social We are told, however, by some able opponents of the educational vnumtaiypast ac^eme mtr0(iuced by the Orders of Council,2 that Government hag education. no right to interfere with the Secular instruction of the people, and that voluntary effort is adequate to accomplish all that is needed for the public welfare. I have endeavoured to show that Government is not only entitled, but bound, to enable the people, by legislative aid, to organise their own wealth and intelligence for the establish- ment and maintenance of schools for universal instruction; and I now beg to add, that experience shows that legislative aid far excels voluntary effort in this good work. England [1857] has been left to voluntary effort for the education of her people from the founda- tion of her institutions, and what has been the result 1 Mr Horace Mann, in his Educational Tour, says : England is the only one among the nations of Europe, conspicuous for its civilisation and resources, which has not, and never has had, any system for the education of its people. And it is the country where, incomparably heyond any other, the greatest and most appalling social contrast exists; where, in comparison with tlie intelligence, wealth, and refine- ment of what are called the higher classes, there is the most ignorance, poverty, and crime among the lower! Owing to the inherent vice and selfishness of their system, or their no-system, there is no country in which so little is effected, compared with their expendi- ture of means; and what is done only tends to separate the different classes of society more and more widely from each other. It is as neces- There is a great difference between the influence of the voluntary sary to provide principle when applied to the support of churches, and of schools StutiofSfor'for the poor. The main object of the church is to provide means physical. for securing the eternal salvation of the contributor and his family —a most momentous consideration to every reflecting man. It involves the selfish principles of his nature, as well as his affections, and his sense of religious duty. The school for the poor, on the other hand, addresses chiefly his Moral and Religious Sentiments, leaving his self-interest far in the rear. Experience shows that these emotions do not suffice to induce the rich to provide sufficiently 1 National Education, pp. 14-16. « This refers to the Minutes of IMS, and to Parliamentary educational action in subsequent years.