are disposed to sneer, and upon whom they affect to look down with a certain degree of contempt, who, I am confident, will be the first to move forward in this work of improvement. They have already made an advance in education beyond that of any other civilized nation, but their system is not yet perfect, nor universally extended. The subject, however, is exciting among them almost universal attention, and whenever a hint for farther improvement is given, it will, I doubt not, be eagerly seized upon, and speedily reduced to practice. They have lately undermined, to a great extent, the cause of intemperance, and they have it now in their power to consecrate the millions of dollars which were formerly spent in degrading sensuality, to the furtherance of education, and the cause of national improvement.* If Britain does

not soon arouse herself from her slumbers and move forward in the cause of education, it will be degrading to the rank she holds in the civilized world, to reflect, that she is far excelled in this respect by a republic on the one hand, and a despotical government + on the other. The only grant of money that was ever directly given by the British Parliament for the promotion of education, was £20,000, which was conceded by the House of Commons in 1833; and Mr. Colquhoun stated, in 1834, that "the utmost that Scotland required (ultimately) for the supply of education, was a provision of £60,000 per annum.” The proposal of such pitiful sums for so grand and

• Here I allude to the Northern States of America, particularly to Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Maine.

+ Prussia.

extensive an object, is little short of an insult offered to the cause of education, and plainly indicates the imperfect and limited views which are still entertained on this subject. Some of our members of Parliament, when they talk of education, appear to mean nothing more than giving the mass of the community a few general instructions in reading, writing, and arithmetic, according to the old inefficient system which has so long prevailed. The only gentleman who has broached this topic in the House of Commons, and who appears to entertain clear and comprehensive views on the subject of education, is Mr. Roebuck; but, unfortunately, his proposals and his luminous exposition of this subject, seem to have been, in a great measure, unappreciated and neglected.

Supposing seminaries established to the extent which the population of any country requires, a difficulty still remains to be surmounted; and that is, How we shall be enabled to induce parents and guardians of all ranks to send their children to the different schools appropriated for their instruction? It would certainly be eligible, in the first instance, to try the effects of moral suasion-to represent to reluctant parents, in the most affectionate manner, the utility and importance of rational and moral instruction, both to themselves and to their offspring -the beneficial effects that would accrue to them even in the present life, and the moral certainty that they would be directed in the path which leads to happiness in the life to come;—and, in every instance, where poverty, or a disinclination to pay the fees, stood in the way, the children should be educated free of expense to the parents. For this

purpose, about ten millions more, for Great Britain, would require to be annually raised, for defraying the charge of educating the children of the poor, and affording salaries for the teachers in every case where salaries are required. Few parents would be found who would perseveringly resist the force of such arguments. But, should moral suasion be insufficient for this purpose, a law might be passed, as in Prussia, rendering it imperative on every parent to have his children, of a certain age, regularly attending an appropriate seminary. Such a law would not require to be rigidly enforced beyond the period of a generation, or even a period of twenty years. For the children, once thoroughly trained in morality and religion, and in all the branches of useful knowledge formerly specified, when they arrived at manhood, and had families of their own, would require no persuasion or extraneous excitement to induce them to give their offspring all the education that can possibly be obtained. The advantages they themselves have experienced from instruction, and the relish for knowledge they have imbibed, would be instead of a thousand arguments to impel them to seize upon every mean of instruction within their reach; and any individual who reasoned or acted otherwise, would be considered as a phenomenon in society. Ignorance and its usual accompaniments, obstinacy and selfconceit, are the chief obstacles which prevent rational arguments from producing their effect, and which render compulsory measures, in certain cases, expedient. But when a community has once become thoroughly enlightened and moralized, the path of duty is clearly perceived to be the path of interest

and of happiness, and compulsory enactments are rendered unnecessary.

CHAPTER XII.

On the Utility of establishing Seminaries for universal Education.

VARIOUS insulated remarks on this topic have been interspersed in the preceding pages, and "the advantages which would result from a more general diffusion of knowledge among all ranks," have been illustrated in a separate volume.* I shall, therefore, in this place, advert to only two or three additional considerations.

I. The establishment of schools for universal instruction, while it counteracted ignorance, and improved the intellect--would tend to the prevention of crime, and might ultimately extirpate those dispositions and affections which led to it.

It was lately stated in the Times newspaper, as the result of a moderate calculation, that there are 50,000 thieves and pickpockets in and about London. According to the statement of an intelligent person, who acted several years as the teacher of the boyprisoners in Newgate, there are above fifty committals to this prison every week, on an average, or nearly 3000 in the year. The persons committed,

"The Improvement of Society by the Diffusion of Knowledge," first published in 1833, of which two editions have been published in Scotland, and four or five in America.

of course, are not all new offenders, as the same individuals frequently return again. But, although on this account we subtract two or three hundreds from this sum, the black catalogue swells to a dreadful amount when we add to it the number of prisoners committed to the penitentiaries, correction houses, and other jails of the metropolis. The trials at the Old Bailey average 2550 in the year, and they are said to be hurried forward with appalling rapidity; the average time given to each case being only eight minutes and a half; though many cannot occupy two, three, or at most five minutes, as the average time now stated includes trials that will last a day, and others that occupy several hours. According to a Report of a Committee of the House of Commons, there were confined in prisons and bridewells, during seven years, ending in 1831, 122,000 persons accused of crimes, or at the rate of 17,428 per annum. Of these, 85,000 were convicted of the crimes laid to their charge, so that 12,142 was the average amount of the yearly convictions. It has been estimated, in regard to juvenile delinquency, that more than 1500 boys, in London alone, are employed in thieving, picking pockets, and committing all kinds of petty depredations. It is also found, that crimes, so far from diminishing, are, in this country, regularly increasing. From the Report of a late Committee of Parliament, it appears, that, during the last 14 years they have increased in the proportion of twentyfour to ten, that is, they have been far more than doubled in the course of that short period.

These statements exhibit a frightful view of the extent and the progress of crimes. Nor is it to be