Original Correspondence.

that they can be , if they like , the most uncharitable , the most untruthful , and the most malignant of mortals . Nothing is ' too bad for them to say or to insinuate against a brother , for any or no cause at all . And when to this personal malignity , and violence of utterance , you add the grossest impertinence , or the most grotesque " cheek , " one feels one has said enough to

point out why Freemasons say , " Oh ! I won't take or read that paper , because there is nothing in it but gross personality and vulgar violence . " It is sad to think what a lasting injury is inflicted on Freemasonry by the thoroughly unkind and uncourteous language , and even detestablejpersonality , of those who call themselves" brethren . "

Indeed , it makes many believe that " Freemasonry " is a system both of idle profession and hypocritical pretence . Certainly the Freemasonry of such persons is a " mockery , a delusion , and a snare . " But as the poet sang of old , " jam satis est" on this disagreeable topic . Another cause of Masonic holding back in respect of Masonic journalism is the obvious incapacity often of editors . It

is not enough because a man says he will be an " editor " that , therefore he is fit for the post . It requires some knowledge of men and books , some reading , some observation , some little common sense , and above all a fair and tolerant spirit , to enable any one to fill such a post satisfactorily . In Masonic literature this is especially so . To take anv one . sav a new-fledtred Mason , and set him to

write about Freemasonry is as absurd as if you were to make a youth fresW from the university the editor of one of the leading papers in the metropolis . Or if you select a person who is not up to his work , ere long the result is too plain in " blunders and botheration , " as the Irishman said . The history and teaching of Freemasonry can only be written upon by those who have studied the subject , bona fide , and

originally . Ask Bro . Hughan , and he will say , I venture to think and as sert confidently , that to suppose you can edit a Masonic journal with cribbed details or second hand information , obtained from cheap handbooks and the like , is the very height of absurdity . The history and archaeology and dogmata of Freemasonry , to be fully explained and dilated upon , require an accurate

acquaintance with the leading principles , and the actual facts , above all , of Masonic archeology and history . Such can . not to be acquired by " cramming , " but demand their cleat and iull realization , both by original research , and personal investigation . And another cause of Masonic indifference is the absolute bathos and twaddle of thc weekly dose served out to us , " usque ad nauseam . " It is a painful

trial for the human intellect , it is a grave strain on editorial patience , as well as on Masonic forbearance , to have to wade through thc hopeless ineptitudes , and childish follies , of some pseudo-journalists . The English is- rowdy , the grammar is defective , opposed to every rule of Lindley Murray , and when you get to the end of the paragraph or article , you rub your eyes , like one of the " sleepers awakened ;"

you want to know -what it aU means , you are dazed and bewildered by this plethora of rubbish and this farrago of twaddle , unmitigated twaddle , sheer nonsense , without coherence , meaning , or object , and lucky for you if it is no worse even than twaddle . And then there is this further infliction . You have to deal with a literary opponent is a pure open controversy . Vou state

your case caretully , manfully , fairly—all in vain . Argument is not his " forte , " so you have to meet abuse , the vulgar insinuation , the unscrupulous Jesuitism , and the directly personal abuse of the incompetent and the "ignoramus . " Who , then , can afford to waste the time devoted to literature in conning over such balderdash ? Life is really altogether too short to permit any one to give up its golden

moments to the perusal of dreary disquisitions , ungrammatical sentences , drivelling ignorance , and unconscionable impudence . I have written strongly , because we have a great and a growing evil to remedy , and because I feel sure that as there is , they say , a cause for everything

here , I have hit , in my humble opinion , on the real cause of that holding back of so many persons in respect of " Masonic literature " per se . I may be wrong , but if so , I shall be glad to be set right , and in the meantime am , Yours fraternally , A VETERAN .

A Little Friendly Gossip On Some Of The Topics Of The Day.

A LITTLE FRIENDLY GOSSIP ON SOME OF THE TOPICS OF THE DAY .

( Written Especially for the " Freemason . " ) BY I'HILANTIIROPOS .

No . 4—EDUCATION . —Continued . The opportune publication of the Privy Council of Education enables me to place some figures before my readers , which I think will be neither tedious nor uninteresting . The Report for 1875 is a very striking one in many particulars . One of these , not the least so , being the fact

that it gives us an idea of what work has been done within a limited space of time , by the School Boards , and also points out fairly and truly what the denominational system has really effected . It is well to remember here , as the Report properly points out , " that what had been done by the list of August

1873 , was mainly effected by voluntary effort , bat since that date School Boards have made considerable additions to the School supply of this country . " What , then , do these official statistics tell us in 1875 , of the status of education in England and Wales in respect of elementary schools ? In the year ending August

31 , 1875 , the inspectors had visited 13 , 217 day schools in England and Wales , containing 19 , 245 departments under separate teachers , and containing accommodation at eight square feet of superficial area per child , for 3 , 146 , 424 scholars . There were on the school register the names of 2 , 744 , 300 children , of whom 983 , 095 were under seven

A Little Friendly Gossip On Some Of The Topics Of The Day.

years of age , 1 , 668 , 054 were between seven and thirteen , and 92 , 251 above thirteen . Of these scholars , 2 , 221 , 745 were present on the day of inspection , while 1 , 837 , 180 were on an average in daily attendance throughout the year . Of these children 613 , 215 having made the requisite number of attendances were qualified to bring grants to their schools—471

,-12-without individual examination , and 1 , 141 , 892 on passing a satisfactory examination in reading , writing , and arithmetic ; 975 , 583 were actually presented for such examination , and 572 , 781 passed the prescribed test without failure in any of the three subjects . There were also a large number of schools examined by the inspectors , who received no Parliamentary grants , and

in which 57 , 19 6 scholars were present on the day of inspection . The night schools examined during the year were 1 , 392 in number ; 48 , 392 scholars above twelve years of age were , on an average , in attendance each night ; 43 , 734 scholars were qualified for examination by having made the required number of attendances during the night school session . Of these , 35 , 353 were

actually examined , and out of every 100 scholars so examined , 87 * 95 passed in reading , 70 ^ 55 in writing , and 59 " 2 i in arithmetic . To this estimate , be it noted , no allowance is made for " private venture" elementary schools , of which many exist . or independent "dame schools . " It appears that there was on the 31 st August , 1875 . accommodation for 3 , 146 , 424 scholars .

The Registrar-General , in his report on the Census of 1871 ( Vol . IV ., p . xii ) , states " the number of children of the school age , 3 and under 13 , as defined by thc Education Act is , of boys 2 , 687 , 631 , of girls 2 , 686 , 670 ; the numbers of the two sexes are nearly equal , a » d they comprise 5 , 374 , 301 , or 23 per cent ., nearly one-fourth of the population . " If we deduct one-seventh as being

the children of a class above that commonly found in public elementary schools ( Report of Education Department for 186 9-70 , p . xiv . ) , the remainder , 4 , 606 , 544 , is the number of children , from 3 to 13 , for whom elementary education fails to be provided in our schools ; but if we assume that each child goes to school for only 7 years out of the 10 of its proper school life , there ought to be

3 , 224 , 580 children under daily instruction in efficient schools . There does not then seem to be that great want of accommodation which some educational empirics have loudly asseited to exist , and if , ve could only fill the old schools , and the new schools now in the process of erection , the " supply" would really equal the " demand . "

" We find " the Report continues , " that tbe schools in England and Wales , visited by the inspectors , for the purpose of annual grants , which provided in 186 9 for 1 , 765 , 944 scholars , or for 8-34 per cent , of the whole population , were in 1875 sufficient for 3 , 146 , 424 scholars , or 13 * 13 per cent , of tbe estimated population . An addition of room , in aided schools , for 1 , 380

480 children in six years is satisfactory , and shows that accommodation in efficient schools is increasing in a much more rapid ratio than the population of the country . But much remains to be done before the three millions and a quarter of children who ought to be daily under instruction can be provided for in schools whose efficiency is tested by the yearly visit of one of your Majesty ' s Inspectors .

" The increased accommoda'ion to which we allude has been supplied in several ways . 1 . In the five years ending on the 31 st of December , 1875 , building grants to the amount of £ 286 , 597 have been paid by the Education Department , on thc completion of 1 , 011 schools affordin g new or improved accommodation for 255 , 037 scholars . These grants have been met by voluntary contributions to thc amount ofjfijtgo

401 . "Ofthe 3 , 342 cases in which building grants were sought in 18 70 1 , 726 applications had been approved by the ist of April , 1876 ; 378 had been rejected ; 1 , 223 had been withdrawn , and 15 are still in progress towards approval . In 1 , 910 cases grants have been awar ded , of which 1 , 463 have been paid . It is estimated that about 300 , 000 additional children will be efficiently provided for when

our last grants to these new or enlarged schools have been paid . As these schools must be conducted as public elementary schools , they will all come under inspection , and must be placed under thc charge of certificated teachers . " 2 . In the case of a large number of schools which have been enlarged or improved , without Government aid , certificated teachers have been appointed , and annual grants applied

for on their behalf . No fewer than 1 , 538 acting teachers attended thc examination for certificates held at Christmas , 1875 , and the success of 1 , 359 of these teachers will bring annual grants , annual inspection , and we trust increased efficiency to their schools . And inasmuch as in 1875 accommodation was provided by 1136 Board Schools for 33 6 , 400 scholars , and

227 , 285 were in average attendance , the increase in the accommodation in voluntary schools since 186 9 has therefore amounted to 993 , 080 places ( or s 6 ' 3 per cent . ) , while the average attendance has increased by 546 , 896 ( or 51 * 4 per cent . )" Whatever then may be said against " denominationalism , " it seems to be doing its duty manfully in the present

as in the past in respect to education . As regards the Board Schools , the following is the official statement : —In the year ending 31 st of August , 1875 , the number of Board Schools increased from 838 to 1 , 140 ; while the accommodation in these schools rose from 245 , 508 to 387 , 22 7 , and the average attendance from 142 , 017 to 231 , 3 81 .

" Thc Report of next year will probably show a still greater increase in the supply of schools provided by the School Boards , which have been established throughout thc country , either ( 1 ) compulsorily , when we have ascertained the existence of a deficiency , which is not , and will not be , met without the aid of rates , or ( 2 ) voluntarily , in the case of districts which desire either to meet a deficiency which they acknowledge , or to enforce the attendance of

A Little Friendly Gossip On Some Of The Topics Of The Day.

children at schools already at work , and sufficient for their respective wants . " So that thc addition to the school provision of the country , when the schools in course o £ erection and en . largement at Michaelmas last are completed , through the agency of School Boards , will have been 454 , 054 children at a cost of £ 4 , 639 , 244 , or £ 10 4 s . 4 d . per head . ' As regards the effect of the compulsory clause of the Education Act the Report proceeds to tell us as follows : —

" BYE-LAWS . "By the 1 st of May , 1876 , bye-laws for enforcing the attendance of children at school had been sanctioned by your Majesty , in accordance with the terms of the Act of 1870 , on the application of the School Boards—1 , London , with a population of 3 , 266 , 987 ; 2 , 103 munici pal boroughs 5 , 342 , 753 . 3 . S 33 « vil parishes 1 , 921 , 2

71-total 10 , 531 , 011 . "By this it appears that compulsory attendance at school is now the law for 46 per cent , of the whole population of England and Wales , and for about 82 per cent , of the whole borough population . " The provisions of the last Education Act will , we trust , both directly and indirectly , tend , by a gentle compulsion ,

to send many children to school who are now prematurel y condemned to toil , or absent through the connivance and selfish indifference of their parents . In respect of teachers the Inspectors found 20 , 940 certifi . cated teachers at work in the aided schools which they visited , while the 40 training colleges , from which the supply of such teachers is mainly recruited , were attended

in 1875 by 2 , 975 students . These students , with a few exceptions , and 1 , 538 acting teachers , were examined for certificates in December , 1875 , and in the following week 3 , 194 candidates for admission to the 1579 vacancies declared in the training colleges were examined ; of these , 2 , 347 were successful , and 1 , 530 are now in the first year of their residence , along with 1 , 477 students of the second

year . In 186 9 there were only 12 , 027 certificated masters and mistresses in England and Wales , but up to August 31 st , 1875 , they were estimated , as we have seen , at an in . crease of 8 , 000 in round numbers , and by December 31 st , 1875 , it was estimated that their numbers would reach 21 , 952 . Of course this increase is still going on .

From the statements of the report , it would seem as if the Council of Education was looking forward to a normal staff of 30 , 000 teachers , as necessary for the elementary schools in this country . The points on which the Report speaks in a tone of dissatisfaction in respect of this grand array of elementary educational work are , 1 . in want of regularity of

attendance cf the scholars ; 2 . the large number of absentees on the day of inspection ; 3 . the failure of such a large proportion of the examined—in the subjects and " standards " appointed ; and 4 . the non-appearance in school at all of large numbers who ought to be there . But all these defects are remediable , and certainly not discernable ; and the simple fact that we have well nigh

accommodation lor " . oun CHILDREN WHO CAN ATTBKO THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS " is in itself most cheering to all friends « , f ed ucation . and should be an answer to theexaggerations < -f alarmists , and the wild figures of those who have made , unhappily , education a battle field for party and for sect . There is school accommodation being provided now

which will actually exceed the many requirements of school accommodation for 3 , 224 , 580 children , and all toat in respect of accommodation apparently remains to be done seems to be , by proper statistical calculations , to keep the needful accommodation up to the normal increase of population , so as never again to allow the school

accommodation in our country to be behind the actual per centage of the school age . Here I stop to-day . I shall neil week enter into the question of the prospects of education in the elementary schools generally , and I propose to conclude these remarks with some considerations as to the result of two apparently opposing systems of education going on " pari passu " amongst us .

Reviews.

Reviews .

A GRAPHIC ANO POPULAR DESCRIPTION OFTHE C OUNTRIES or TUB WORLD . Illustrated by Robe Brown , MA , & C- — Cassell , Petter , & Galpin . We have received Part 1 of this new and interesting work , and we have perused it with much of pleasure and approval . It is , we think , likely to become very popular , and deserves , we venture to add , all of public patronage

for it is , in our opinion , an admirable commencement a most useful and much needed work . Printed in a deal and very readable type , it is most effectively illustrated and we feel quite sure that thc many admirable engraving 5 will seive to commend this new " geography , " so to say , ' to the attention of the young , and the appreciation of toe old . There is . after all . no science much more charn * !>

in itself than geography , nor one , strange to say , so ramneglected . Yet geography , is as we once remember hearing an old and valued friend of ours say , * " mine of interest and pleasure to the though " mind . " How true are his words . As Long fellow beautifully pens it , — I read what other bards have sung

Of lands beyond the sea ; And the bright days when I was young Come thronging back to me . In fancy I can hear again The Alpine torrent ' s roar , The mule bells on the hills of Spain , The sea at Elisnore . I see thc convent's gleaming wall Rise from its groves of pine ,