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    rEHE WRONGS OF WOMEN ACKJOJfcDIBf ©* I , .. . TO M . P .. .,. ¦ . « . : ¦ ! ¦ , . ' : ' t That certain incidents of the matariage laws tare not alt recohciteable itafchi morality , justice , o * practicability , $ s proved not' . only by ) evidence too plainly discernible in * our streets * ' - ^ - not only ' ¦ by' compkiia'ts which cry aloucb from many a disturbed home , — ' ¦ btatt . also by > the measures , abortive as ih < &v > ar © ,. to ; invest tigate and amend the law . Parliament , and ; the » servant of Parliament the Ministry , have accomplished the , better half of reform ! i _ t . « s » -v ¦ mi . a 1 . _ Tfc 1 . 1 the faultThere is the

    by recognising . Boyml ' Commission to inquire into the law of I ) i- » . < voroe ; and Mr . Bowyer attempted this ses <»< Bton to improve the character of actions atb law relating to offences against marriage ^ but the Commissioners c , an hit upon no funs ther reform than to render divorce cheaper ^ in money cost and trouble , and Mr . Bowyttp can do nothing more towards ife than to en * able a woman % o appear in court in , actions for criminal conversation , and to convert the damages allowed by the existing law into a fine . Lot us admit at once that all these

    three changes would be an improvement , at least so far as abstract justice is concerned . 1 b is silly , in reference both to logic and to >

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    only an indifferent educator , but the reverse of aa educator . It posts up the knowledge oi an educated man-, but seldom supplies him with the application , never with the beginning of his knowledge . Yet to that best possible instructor , the newspaper of the oayy the poor children of this country are to "be leftf The- education of these children is a fiction , a phantoo * , such as we might imagine the nightmare life of a man to be , whose existence wa 3 provided for solely by daily meals at a railway-station , when he had been allowed neither parents to beget him , nor a Seaveri to go to .

    vJr oaaaaot suddenly attain to truth ; a& w if ° s ^ tific truth as to religious truths We know in our own day that the moatf confident assertions of our immediate progenitors were mistakes . Some of th <* ad * mitted scientific truths of one age we thd recognised' fallacies of anotftOT Itetfce * informed . The Doint ^ blank denial of the sceptie of the last century , we have already learned , was aa baseless in sound reason a » thfe dogi

    matic as&earfeion of ^ fche seetary . If men limit their studies to ? *• ascertained truths , ^ they may close their fcgdM * and * my that there p no curriculum for them to enter upon . They must pe * fbrc ^ le « rn error a * wen '& » t * utb , and in the process they will bevo $ l £ ; dble to alter the proportiona—to ascertain more truth in proportidn t £ ' the errors . What matters ^ then , if they do take this catechism © r thafy the shorter or the longer ; the disBeritiiie-

    doetriries or the orthodox ? A imi ^ 0 vi 0 Fi 0 apeek-of ^ tBefor ^ h ^ die » j ^ djM ^ ' ^ 4 tM ^ 4 [ wfeo'Will eat no -food but tbsfc whio&is AbsK lately pure . And those who are in earnest about education will trouble-themselves « om ^ jparatiyelf l&trle about the G 8 tfoitifckis which they ' musV ^ cej ^ W tne present . ^ aMtfeel fto ^ Berid- yourr ^ diHg * tb : a OhuTch-of-B ) dglan ^ school , with any ^ afech ! te ^ to ; remain in % nory *< Se ^ ^ Sd ^ u may be sure that the more he lefernBin ' -that School ,

    ! the better able h « will be to test the faliacies < jthat accompany the teaching , as well 1 as the > jo % hfei ^ thatf surrSQi ^ l' jnWfn Ws $ ® & 8 &-- ' $ 1 & funseen ^ ttiofes w % ere ffee J wa&l > eafoai € o&s not [ lie . ^ ke % he- j ^ uc ^ tte ^ worth ni ^ re iHitki l ^ i % d ; ; a year y ' x& 4 ( $ er £ § substantial , ample , sterling ; and as genera ! a » { possible- ; 1 e aW ^ Ji | $ B . ^ el $ r ^ i ! n % ^ ^ ^ tersi t 6 fyght fey sbuli ' Jafr ^ tiiGf wi 3 lV < aiia % estf pbiift < Jentthftt ^^ teorW ^ M ^ ote *^ scfuf | has instilled into it , the tnor ^ independent iti wiii dxsif loose JJ ior

    pe ' - compeTCBorB Tne ^ poa ^ beSsioli ; Bu ^* lii « i ^ wMc 'H ^ trm 4 fo ^ on © itfa ^ 5 pibout his' childcefi , is-trute * & > the wh © t # bO ^ of the pebpte- aid •¦§ tiV imMbnW ^ bf & $ mwp fSEtdt the education of the ^ eb pl ^ wil 'WsgdaSS . menced when education , ceasing to be a pre- " text for the- competitions of sect , ' becomes tM

    jpetiti ^ n ? of sec * . THeii th * % 6 bple' : ioPta | i > icotintryr may gay tht *' ^ ieywiili [ J % > educateftheir children , md Wnt *? wilL' 4 »^» , / & Bpit 0 < & ?< difficulties /* A * pres ^ n * * t \ $ f 4 vish ^ > to pdldcate liheir children , bu ^ to sfriiggfe fiir the 1 jgnoran , t little millions as sacrifices to > they jidol * of se < it , ; '

    through a few of the ? simplest sums ; and a show of some other things not worth talking about . The object is , not the education , but taa promise of it , to attract children into theological schools . We have some right to aay * this from , the mode in which the education has sprung up . Religious bodies are pi » ised by Mr . Mann in th& strongest Ian * guager ibr spending treasure lapon the high w < H ? k of teaching yaung Englishmen at the rate of 14 s . 6 d ^ a-head in the yea ? . TMafe of tfeat Baorifiee ^ We know th ^ tt the middle

    ofesses wh © subscribe to thi * work are not tfe ^ tiehest , and that they are family men ; Mt When we compare rae amount which tliey spend each matn upon his own table , ' liEpon luxuries which he could really dp witholit and live , and be efficient in his work- ^ - Ttfftfo this sacrifice of 14 s . 6 d . to the welfare ; # brMly and eternal , of bis ntore lucHess feHbw-subfects , we must say , that the boasted risligibus tribute to education is . a mockery th

    whicli almost deserves to be flung back at tlie lt ^^ d of « mati that makes it . B ^ t'hciW was ife that even this tribute of t ^ W ^ extracted ? ' ^ he ' reljgious bodies Ol ^^ ot coine forWarol at , ajl , 141 the way that tf ^ do iijdw , at tjie ( beginning o ) f tl ^ e ceptury . lO ^ S , n Q % . Ipftp- the British ap . d Fpreign SeBool Society had based an . uji ^ ectajrian t ^ gfegficaj . sGnool , upon Lanoa sjbe [ r ' s plaji of t e ^ iipg little cU ^ dren ; ; not ijmSl- tke c V $ » # cmal School Society for Dromotinfi ; the of the ip >

    «^ ea tipii 3 P ^ or $ h % joj ^ nciples of t ^ . Esiablished Church , ? ' op BeU ' s » onltgrial g ^^ tein , had fcegun to ta ] te gqssesaion ox considerable numbera j-rnay , practically , i ^ p li until ^ 1 ^ Committe © of Priyy Qomu ^ l for 3 i 4 ijca ^<^ had be ^ an ^ o ^ tifla ^ te the insfeftcftiioij of thciyou ^ g with 3 fcate * grun&Sj that th ^ . Pjafleatwg ^ bodies were <* ajle 4 foxfeh to compete Jo © the retention q £ children in peotilia ? theologicai schools ; the education lieiag no better fcbaa & piet&st . Compare

    the statistics ia Jfc Mann ' s ^ bo oks * sea how each sect tupder : the inftuenee of : that competitioji has increased from a few units of sishools to hundreds ^ or from a few hundreds to thousands , within * the baif-cehtury . It is not * oo much to say that three-fourths of the existing Schools were called into existence nofefor tte sake of edfceation , but for the sak © of sectarian proselyinsm . * Tliat which is a pretext cannot command

    any substantial interest of its ow » , and ib dtoes not surprise us to find that the education carried on to subserre the purposes of the sectarian chapel , ends in leaving the scholar barely able to read , ill able to write , bungling at arithmetic , and ignorant ofevery * thing that books contain ; unless peculiar and exceptional qualities in the man himself have made him self-educating . Even in these

    exceptional cases , the sect has had possession of the man ' s soul ; has stimulated his own selfrighteousness and dogmatic pride ; has identified him with the chapel , and then Tie consents to be thrown forward as a specimen of " voluntary' * education or Dissenting education or some other hypocritical pretence of the kind . *

    The great majority of the people of England , on any genuine estimate of education , are ignorant ; few of them able to read or write in the sense which those words ought to convey ; very , very few of them knowing anything substantially of the matters which books contain , moat of thorn depending upon the uowBpaper . It is a common pretence

    indoed , to which wo shall not at all subscribe , that tho newspaper is tho " best possible educator ; " but no fallacy can be more thoroughly false and destructive . If we remember tho single necessity of tho journal , — that its information must esaeutially relate to the events of the day , having neither beginning nor end , we shall perceive that it is no > t

    It is natural that ignorant people should undervalue education , and we must not blame tie parents of ignorant children , themselves tie children of ignorant parents , if they do not value what they do not know . To some extent , indeed , the . same expuse may be extended to , the middle classes of this country ,, whose substantial and practical knowledgeexcept in . the daily business- of the shop , and mutters closely connected - with

    electronsis derived principalj ^ froni the newspaper / But Whatever the excuses may he , their real object , we say , is - to prevent , not to give edueatfan . ' If & were nofc sw , thejr w>d seiz © it w ^ ett tfcev could get it , an&iwould not refuse * o hav « rt except on impossible cpnditiona . Government and % eG ^ eimm « ntal dasses generally would gitei edjucation ^ coupled with religious teaching s hwb th ^ greatrnmjjarity © f the peapk of Eogr

    lajid h ^ y « . learned to ^ uspeet tha ^ t , bait ,. anch that is in grea , t . pa ^ the , yeasoi * why -so n > aiyr parents withhowl , their ehUdren . from the estalbUsked schools * . T&eT ^ \ jriil not iallow them , to learn , reading ,, wi 9 . ting and geograr phy , if thevareQTaljf periftiti ^ ed to do sq it is upon condition of * . making some adinission , of " prevenienffc space , * or the " real ! pre : seiace ** or other dogma wliich' the par ^ nti , resist and resent with all < t&eifc : hea ( rfa and ¥ oul . Th ^ Dissenters are all for education ; bu 4 it must be by the voltthtarj ; etertioris of people ; for the leading men , who at present subscribe

    Ms . 64 . a year p » er soul , confess that they hope not to be always saddled with that burden , and that the working classes themselves wiH be able- to pay the . sum out of their own pockets . In other words , the eectarians put their veto upon education in order to keep the people less defended against the work of proselytisoa . Aiiy sect wiS pay ike education fine to trap growing children > tfuture members of its own chapel -, but t ) je education which they niqy have , they stead-, fastly refuse ,

    If thqy were JaQnesV about it , they would see at once that the objeofc which they pcofeas to seek can be attained through many path » as well as one . There ifc not a star in tho heavens which cannot be viewed from any field of the hemisphere , ; there i ? not . ato essential truth & n ^ atur , © that oanpot be ar-. rived at by -many ; ways . JS error \ & c ^ iij ^ p , p by the way , knowledgecwiil correct it . Toe eaucated , classes know this . There- are few

    of them who have noli gone through the trials of catechisms , examinations , and 6 < iarticle 9 , " thirty-nine or forty - few of them who have not been , as scholars , members of the Church of England ; and few of them wlio do not know that cateclrisina , examinations , and articles , are no fetters or . bars to real independence q f opinion , so that you have the knowledge . It is true , that by the way , men

    not of independent miuds may bo entrapped in the cages of dogma . They are , however , leas liable to that slavery when educated than when uneducated ; and perhaps a larger proportion , of real independent sagacity is to bo found amongst those who haivo passed through the orthodox sieve of public school or university , than amongt those who have never beon through any school at all .

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    Matt 2 O , * 864 . THE LEADER : m

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), May 20, 1854, page 471, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2039/page/15/