There is an establishment in Paris, for providing instruction for
artisans of all ages and others employed during the day, which is well
worthy of imitation in this country. It has occasioned the
establishment, in all parts of France, of a number of evening schools,
at which instruction is given without charge to the pupil. We are by no
means clear that in this respect a sound principle is observed; holding
it to be important that those who _can_ pay anything for the great
advantages of education should pay something, however little. But into
this question we do not now propose to enter.
The institution was originated in 1680, by Dr. J. Baptiste de la Lulli,
Canon of Rheims, lingered on till 1804, but was revived and brought to
its present condition of efficacy in 1830. It consists of a parent or
training establishment in Paris (Rue Plumet, 33) from which teachers are
provided for any locality, in any part of France, or even Italy, for
which an evening school may be petitioned by the residents. There are
connected with it at present no fewer than five thousand teachers, who
call themselves “Brothers of the Christian Schools” (_Frères des Ecoles
Chrétiennes_). Four thousand are employed in France, and one thousand in
Italy. They are not a Church, but a Lay Community (_Religieux laïques_).
A certain number remain ready at the central establishment to obey any
call that may be made for their services.
Before such a requisition is made, the municipal authorities, or any
number of benevolent individuals who may choose to subscribe, must have
provided a house and school-room, with all proper accommodations, and
must certify that a certain number of pupils are willing to enrol
themselves. On application to the central establishment three qualified
Christian Brothers are sent down, at salaries not exceeding six hundred
francs, or twenty-four pounds per annum in the provinces, or thirty
pounds a year in Paris. Fewer than three Frères are not allowed to
superintend each school; two for the classes, and a probationer to
perform the household duties; but, when the schools outgrow the
management of that number a fourth is added, to take the management of
the whole, and is called a _Frère-directeur_. The classes are limited to
sixty for writing, and one hundred for other branches of education. This
limitation is necessary, because the monitorial system is not followed,
and the whole weight of the duties falls on the masters.
The schools thus established in the various quarters of Paris are very
numerous; six thousand apprentices and artisans attend them after their
hours of work—young boys, youths, and adults—the numbers having declined
since the revolution of 1848. “I have,” says Mr. Seymour Tremenheere, in
a note to his Report on the state of the mining population, “at
different times visited some of those evening schools in the Fauxbourgs
St. Antoine and St. Martin, containing from four hundred to six hundred,
in separate class-rooms of sixty to a hundred each, all well lighted,
warmed, and ventilated. The gentle and affectionate manner of the
Frères, and their skill in teaching, were very conspicuous, and
sufficiently explained their success. The instruction consists, in
addition to the doctrines of Christianity, which are the basis of the
whole, of reading, writing, arithmetic, a little history, drawing
(linear and perspective), and vocal music. In all the classes, many
adults who had been at work all day were to be seen mixed with young men
and boys, patiently learning to read, or to write and cypher. In the
drawing-classes, some were copying ornamental designs, or heads, for
their own amusement; others, to improve themselves as cabinetmakers, or
workers in bronze, or in other trades for which some cultivation of
taste is requisite.”
The superiority of the system of teaching adopted by the Christian
Brothers has been proved by a severe test. In Paris, as in London, it is
the custom, once a year, to assemble all the parochial schools; not,
however, as a mere show for the purpose of uniting in ill-executed
psalmody, but with the better and more useful view of testing the
improvement of the scholars, and of ascertaining the degrees of
diligence and proficiency attained by the masters. The parochial
scholars compete for prizes, given by the corporation of the city; not
only among themselves, but with the other elementary schools—those of
the Christian Brothers among the rest. At these competitions, it has
happened, of late years, that the pupils of the latter have been the
victors. In one year, they gained seventeen prizes out of twenty; in
another, twenty-three out of thirty-one; and, last year, they carried
off the highest forty-two prizes: the fortunate candidates of all the
other schools only claiming the inferior rewards. In addition to these
evening schools for adults and young men who are already gaining their
livelihood, the Frères Chrétiens have set on foot Sunday evening sermons
at different churches, and also meetings for lectures on religious and
moral subjects adapted to the wants of, and calculated to influence, the
same class. “I recently was present at one of these meetings in the
Faubourg St. Antoine” (we quote our former authority), “where a series
of eloquent and forcible addresses was delivered—one, by a Professor of
History, on some of the leading points of Christian morals; another, by
a gentleman of literary attainments, on Death and a future state; a
third, by a gentleman of independent position, on the religious
condition of some of the forçats at Toulon; a fourth, by a member of the
university, on the displacement of labour by machinery, and its ultimate
advantage to the labourer; all of whom had come forward to aid in the
task of combating irreligion, and the various forms of error pervading
the minds of so many of the working classes of Paris. These were
followed by hymns, and by prayers. A deep sense of religion is, indeed,
the animating spirit of all the endeavours of the Frères Chrétiens for
the benefit of the lower classes, and the principle which sustains them
in their self-denying and arduous career.”
The lovers of “great comprehensive systems,”—to whom we adverted in a
former page—might, by copying the plan of the French Christian Brothers,
carry out a scheme which would be of the utmost use in this country. It
would also have the advantage of encouraging small beginnings, and
combining them into one great and efficacious whole. We can hardly wait
until the present adult generation of ignorance shall die out to be
succeeded by another which we are, after all, only half educating. Why
not offer inducements, and form plans, for the instruction of grown-up
persons, many of whom, having come to a sense of their deficiencies,
pine for culture and enlightenment, which they cannot obtain? A central
establishment in London—on a general plan somewhat similar to the
Government Normal Schools already in existence, but with less cumbrous
and costly machinery—could be formed at a small expense; and we doubt
not that many a knot of benevolent well-wishers would, in their various
localities, be eager to provide all the scholastic _matériel_ for the
less favoured artisans and day-workers around them, could they look with
confidence to some central establishment for the formation of teachers,
in which they could place implicit confidence.
The monitorial system, in a school consisting of all ages—in which a
small boy, from his intellectual superiority, might be placed over the
heads of pupils, greater, older than himself—is manifestly
impracticable; and a larger number of teachers than is usual in schools
for children only, would be necessary.
We will borrow from Mr. Tremenheere a comparison between the
intellectual acquirements and moral conduct of French workmen and those
of English workmen, in the mining districts of each country. We do not
assume that the superiority of the French workmen has been occasioned
solely by the evening schools of the Christian Brothers, but, after what
we have already shown, we consider it reasonable to infer that, since
1830, those establishments have had a large share in the formation of
their character. In a former report,[6] Mr. Tremenheere described the
habits and manners of the French colliers and miners, especially those
at the iron and coal-works in the coalfield near Valenciennes. He was
compelled, by the force of unexceptionable evidence, to show how
superior they were in every respect, except that of mere animal power,
to the generality of the mining population in this country. At the large
iron-works at Denain, employing about four thousand people, there were
thirty Englishmen from Staffordshire. These men were earning about
one-third more wages than the French labourers; but, they spent all they
earned in eating and drinking; were frequently drunk; and in their
manners were coarse, quarrelsome, disrespectful, and insubordinate. The
English manager—who had held for many years responsible situations under
some of the leading iron-masters in Staffordshire—stated with regret,
that so different and so superior were the intelligence, and the
civilised habits and conduct, of the French, that, if any thirty
Frenchmen from these works were to go to work in Staffordshire, “they
would be so disgusted, they would not stay; they would think they had
got among a savage race.”
Footnote 6:
“Report of Inspection of French and Belgian mines, 1848—Appendix.”
There have been, lately, forty Frenchmen employed at one of the large
manufactories in Staffordshire, by the Messrs. Chance, at their
extensive and well-known glass-works at West Bromwich, in the immediate
neighbourhood of some of the great iron-works. Mr. Chance gives the
Commissioner the following account of these men:—“A few years ago, we
brought over forty Frenchmen to teach our men a particular process in
our manufacture. They have now nearly all returned. We found them very
steady, quiet, temperate men. They earned good wages, and saved while
they were with us a good deal of money. We have had as much as fifteen
hundred pounds at a time in our hands belonging to these men, which we
transmitted to France for them. One of them, who sometimes earns as much
as seven pounds a week, has saved in our service not much short of four
thousand pounds. He is with us now. He is a glass-blower. We have about
fourteen hundred men in our employ (in the glass-blowing and alkali
works) when trade is in a good state. I am sorry to say that the
contrast between them and the Frenchmen was very marked in many
respects, especially in that of forethought and economy. I do not think
that, while we had in our hands the large sum mentioned above as the
savings of the Frenchmen at one time, we have had at the same time five
pounds belonging to our own people. They generally spend their money as
fast as they can get it.”
In Scotland, evening schools abound, and come in effectually to aid the
universal system of primary instruction existing over that part of our
island. A Wesleyan local preacher told Mr. Tremenheere of the Scotchmen
employed on the Northumberland and Durham collieries, “when you go into
some of the Scotchmen’s houses, you would be surprised to see the books
they have—not many, but all choice books. Some of their favourite
authors in divinity are very common among them. Many of them read such
books as Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, and are fond of discussing the
subjects he treats of. They also read the lives of statesmen, and books
of history; also works on logic; and, sometimes, mathematics. Such men
can be reasoned with about anything appertaining to their calling, and
they know very well why wages cannot be at particular times higher than
a certain standard. They see at once, by the price current in the
market, what is the fair portion to go to the workman as wages,
according to the circumstances of the pit and the general state of the
trade. Such men will have nothing to do with the union. They scorn to
read such penny and twopenny publications as we have been talking about.
They are fonder of sitting down after their work and reading a chapter
of the Wealth of Nations. They will also talk with great zest of many of
their great men—their own countrymen, who have raised themselves by
their own industry. There are, undoubtedly, some men that come out of
Scotland bad men, but these are not informed men. I am speaking of all
this neighbourhood, where I have lived all my life. There are a great
many Scotch at all the collieries here, and most of them very
respectable men, exceedingly so. You may ask me why the union is so
strong in parts of Scotland—as in Lanarkshire? It is because in
Lanarkshire the pitmen are one-third Irish, and many of the worst Scotch
from other counties. Those who come here are among the best in their own
country, I should think, from the accounts they give me. When a
Scotchman comes here he earns English wages; but he does not spend them
as an Englishman does. A Scotchman often, rather than lose buying a good
book, will lose his dinner. The Scotchwomen begin to keep their houses
cleaner after they get into England, and by degrees they come to keep
them as clean as the Englishwomen; and the first generation after their
fathers come are equal to the English in their wish to keep everything
clean about them. They are generally very saving, and lay out the
over-plus of their earnings in books and furniture or lay it by. They
have a great disposition to have their children well taught. Indeed, I
have seen several lads that have been educated in the Scotch schools,
and I find them very well taught; they can reason like men.
“I don’t think I ever saw Adam Smith’s works in more than one or two
English pit-men’s houses. They are backward to attempt anything that
requires steady thinking, such as that book, or any work on logic or
mathematics. The Scotch often study both. This makes one of the great
differences between the best working-men of the two people. The English
seldom attempt even English grammar or geometry; they always tell me
they are obliged to give way when they have made a trial.[7] They had
rather read any popular work, such as the ‘Christian Philosopher,’ the
‘Pilgrim’s Progress,’ or Walter Scott’s novels. They love to read their
country’s history, and they like to talk of its renown in the ancient
French wars of Edward the Third and Henry the Fifth. They are also great
readers of Napoleon’s and the Duke of Wellington’s wars, and their soul
seems to take fire when they talk of their country’s victories. They are
fond of biography, and especially that of men who rose from being poor
men to be great characters. They are very generous in their
dispositions, and will share their loaf with the poor, as all the
beggars and trampers from Newcastle and all the country know. They are
greatly improved in my time as to drinking habits; there is much less of
it, and their money is chiefly spent in living well and making a great
show in furniture and dress. The women, too, are improving, and manage
their families much better than they used to do. The English pit-boys
are exceedingly quick at school—much more so than the Scotch, I think.
What I most want to see is better descriptions of schools—schools under
masters of ability, who can teach their boys to think and reason. You
will find boys who have been at such schools as most of those we have
now, that can write a good hand and do some cyphering; but when you come
to ask them questions that exercise the mind, they have no idea what to
answer. If there were such schools for the boys, the men would soon be a
different race; for what the men want is to be taught to exercise their
reason fairly, which would prevent their being led away as they are
now.”
Footnote 7:
We doubt the _general_ applicability of this description, without
questioning its correctness in this case.
With a little modification, this description of the pitman applies, in
its more favourable characteristics, to the English operative generally.
No one can read it without being convinced that there is sound and
hopeful material, in the generous English character to work upon. The
natural ability, the deep feeling, the quickness of perception, the
susceptibility to religious and moral impressions, the sound common
sense where the rudest cultivation has been attained, and the heartfelt
patriotism, of the humble orders of this country, are unequalled in the
world. Surely this is a rich mine to work; surely it should not be left
to unskilled workers, or to chance; but should be faithfully confided to
the heads and hearts of men, trained up to its improvement, as to a
noble calling, and a solemn duty! In all parts of this land, the people
are willing and desirous to be taught. Open schools anywhere, and they
will come—even, as the Ragged Schools have proved, out of the worst dens
of vice and infamy, in the worst hiding-places, in the worst towns and
cities. But, unless the art of teaching is pursued upon a system, as an
art, thoroughly understood, and proceeding on sound principles, the best
intentions and the most sincere devotion can do next to nothing. For
want of competent teachers, there are opportunities being lost at this
moment, we do not hesitate to say, in the Ragged Schools of London
alone, the waste of which, is of more true importance to the community,
than all the theological controversies that ever deafened its ears, and
distracted its wits. Meanwhile, the sands of Time are running out
remorselessly, and, with every grain, immortal souls are perishing. We
want teachers, competent to educate the mind, to rouse the reason, to
undo the beastly transformation that has been effected—to our guilt and
shame—upon humanity, and to bring God’s image out of the condition of
the lower animals. What we have suffered to be beaten out of shape, we
must remould, with pains, and care, and skill, and cannot hope to put
into its rightful form hap-hazard. And such would be the glorious office
and main usefulness of a comprehensive, unsectarian—in short,
Christian—Brotherhood in England.