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have joined themselves together to form two distinct book clubs, thus getting a cheap supply of new and good works, which they can, after reading, purchase at a low rate to enrich their own libraries.

"We have usually met four times in the course of the year, viz:, on the second Tuesday in the months of January, April, July, and October. Our evenings have always been pleasantly as well as profitably occupied. At the first meeting, called by Mr. Horrocks, at his own house, on January 1st, 1851, there were eighteen present, who resolved themselves into a committee, and formed the nucleus, which has now gathered around it upwards of two hundred old schoolfellows; and this reminds us of the manner in which, as we advance, our members become scattered abroad. Out of this large number, not more than one hundred live within a mile of this spot, for no sooner does a lad leave school than his wanderings begin, and driven or tempted by the circumstances of life, he gradually grows more distant as he grows older. Thus we have members in all parts of England, a dozen in Australia, one in China, one in New Zealand, one in the West Indies, besides many moving about the world in the merchant marine, or in the army or navy. We receive communications from many of them, and lose no opportunity of letting them see that though absent they are remembered.

“The past Fraternity year commenced with the January meeting of 1859. There were then present upwards of thirty members. After the usual business, the adoption of the report, &c., Mr. Stiff gave us a well-delivered speech, which Mr. Jaques followed up. Mr. Avill then read an "Historical Sketch of Fire Arms," showing much research; and Mr. Arch gave an essay on "The Prospects of Boyhood," which indicated much original thought, and was well expressed.

"At the Spring meeting, a very warm, hearty letter was read from our distant member, Mr. G. E. Lee, of Auckland, New Zealand, and Mr. John Lewis delivered a lecture on Galvanism, with experiments, to an interested and inquisitive audience. At our Midsummer meeting, another letter from New Zealand, and one from Mr. Eykelbosch, of Malta, was read. Mr. Alexander Arch gave an essay on the "Cotton Trade and Manufacture," and Mr. G. Skegg "A Mechanical, Historical, and Statistical Account of the Fire Escapes in use in the present day."

"At the Autumn meeting, Mr. E. Stansmore was present with us, after a voyage round the world; letters were read from several absent members. Mr. G. Butt gave an interesting lecture on "The Art and Manufacture of Pottery," illustrating the same by means of a potter's wheel, which a friend worked in turning various earthen vessels, and showing also a model of a kiln for consuming its own smoke, various drawings, specimens of pottery, &c.

"Thus the four meetings of the year, exclusive of the smaller meetings for special objects, have drawn together more than a hundred of our members in twelve months, and with this peculiarity, that each successive meeting is found to consist of nearly an entire new set of faces, as few of us can afford to come many times in a year to the old spot.

"Our prospects for the coming year, the projects with which we start, will be better understood as our friends to follow me speak; but your Committee believe that you will, with them, think that the past year, though falling short of our aspirations, is, on the whole, most satisfactory."

We think a hint of some value may be derived by teachers from the recital of these facts. In this case, the initiative was taken by the master of the school; but the plan, and its entire practical realization, have been the spontaneous work of the old scholars themselves. Friendly guidance and co-operation on the part of the committee and the master have been found to do much good in such cases; but the more the class takes the form of a voluntary society for mutual improvement, the better it is generally found to work. It should be remembered, also, that it is only

in a good and well-managed school that the disposition to form such associations will exist. In a school in which the work is mechanical, or the standard low, in regard either to instruction or discipline, it will be impossible to create such an appetite for mental improvement, or such a feeling of loyalty and affection to the school itself, as to make the scholars anxious to maintain their old fellowship, and to continue to study or to read together. It is obviously important to sustain by every possible means a corporate character for the school, and to make every boy in it feel a personal interest in its reputation and success as a school. Wherever this interest can be created it will be found available as the best basis for future efforts, and the best security for the establishment of successful meetings of old scholars. The peculiar circumstances of each district will necessarily modify the plans to be adopted. When classes for evening instruction prove to be impracticable, monthly or quarterly meetings for reading papers or for discussion may be tried. If these are not found to succeed, a reading society for the circulation of good books and periodicals may often be easily set on foot, and be invited to meet occasionally at the school-room. But in almost all cases an annual gathering of old scholars will be found practicable, and very beneficial, both in its effect upon the young people themselves, and in its incidental action on the general interests of the school. Any influence for good which can be gained over the youths who have just entered business, and who have just begun to encounter the most serious temptations and dangers of life, is worth striving for; but at the same time it is not easy to gain, and some discouragement and failures must be looked for at first.

We shall be very glad to report in these pages the experience of any teacher who has made any progress towards the solution of this difficulty, or who is able to help his fellow-teachers with facts or hints on the subject.

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DOUGLAS, Sir C., M.P., 27, Wilton-terrace, S.W.

EDWARDS, S., Esq., Argyle Lodge, Tulse-hill, S..

EDWARDS, E., Esq., Blackheath, S.E.

EGERTON, H., Esq., 6, Old-square, Lincoln's-inn, W.C..
FRIEND, a, per Overend, Gurney, and Co......
GRAINGER and Co., Uxbridge.....

LA TROBE, Rev. P., 27, Ely-place, Ilolborn, E.C.

MIRRIELIES, A., Esq., Upton-park, Slough
MOCATTA, T. D., Esq. Gloucester-place

MYERS, G., Esq., Belvidere-road, Lambeth, S...
PERFECT, R., Esq., Reform Club, S. W.
S. M., per S. Gurney, Esq., M.P.

..(additional)...

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3 3 0 500

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Subscriptions and Donations will be thankfully received by Messrs. HANBURYS and Co., Bankers to the Society, 60, Lombard-street; and at the Society's House, Borough-road.

Printed by GEORGE UNWIN, of No. 8, Grove Place, in the Parish of St. John, Hackney, in the County of Middlesex at his Printing Office, 31, Bucklersbury, in the Parish of St. Stephen, Walbrook, in the City of London; and Published by THE SOCIETY, at the Depository, Borough Road.-MONDAY, APRIL 2, 1860.

THE

EDUCATIONAL RECORD.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN SCHOOL SOCIETY.

ANNUAL MEETING.

THE Annual General Meeting of the Society took place on Monday, the 7th of May last, at the Institution, in the Borough Road. The proceedings commenced with the examination of the Boys' School at ten o'clock. Until the arrival of LORD JOHN RUSSELL, the president of the day, the chair was occupied by the Treasurer of the Society, HENRY EDMUND GURNEY, Esq. The boys were examined in the Holy Scriptures, Geography, History, Mental Arithmetic, and other branches of elementary instruction. A large number of drawings was exhibited, which had been executed by the boys of the School, of whom about thirty had received prizes for proficiency in drawing from the Department of Science and Art. Some appropriate pieces of part-music were sung by the children. At the conclusion of the examination, the noble chairman addressed a few words of counsel and encouragement to the boys, and expressed his satisfaction at the evidence which had been afforded of the continued usefulness of the Model School. The meeting, which was a very crowded one, then adjourned.

At twelve o'clock, the General Meeting of the Subscribers and Friends of the Society took place in the Girls' School-room. The Right Hon. LORD JOHN RUSSELL, M P., and one of the VicePresidents of the Society, again presided, and was supported by Lord Lyveden, Henry Pease, Esq., M.P.; A. Slaney, Esq., M.P.; Sir Walter Stirling, Bart.; the Revs. Hugh Allen, Samuel Martin, R. S. Hardy; Dr. Lockhart, Messrs. G. Moore, W. Ball, R. Forster, and other gentlemen.

Mr. E. D. J. WILKS, the Secretary, read the Report, from which it appeared that 250 young persons had attended the classes of the Normal College during the year, of whom 116 had been appointed to schools, and 124 are at present resident in the Institution. Of the 123 students presented at the certificate examination at Christmas last, every candidate succeeded. In the female department, the number of marks under the head of "domestic economy" and "industrial skill" was

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remarkably high. In the Model Schools, the average attendance is as follows: in the boys' school it was 603; in the girls' school, 380. The total number of children who had passed through these schools since their establishment was 87,850. The system of school inspection had been continued with very happy results: 1,389 visits had been paid during the year to 1,170 schools, in 876 towns and villages, besides 212 visits to 150 schools in the metropolis and its immediate vicinity. The first stone of the new Training College at Stockwell was laid on the 5th of August, by Earl Granville, the Lord President of the Council. The contract for the building was £15,572, to which must be added £3,100 for the land, legal expenses, architect's commission, fittings, and furniture. Towards this total outlay of £18,672, about £6,000 might be expected from the Committee of Council on Education, and the sum of £5,342 had been contributed, chiefly by the committee and their personal friends; but the balance to be provided for on this account was over £7,000, to raise which an earnest appeal was presented to the friends of the scriptural education of the children of the poor. The Bangor Institution for young men was likely to be ready for opening at Christmas next, and at the present time there were twenty young men under training in that city. Grants had also been made during the year to ragged schools and similar institutions, and an extensive correspondence had been kept up with our colonies, and foreign countries. In India, considerable progress might be made in the work of education, were it not that there was a want of duly qualified teachers. A "Christian Vernacular Education Society had been established, and it was hoped that, through its instrumentality, the want might be supplied.

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Mr. GURNEY read the Treasurer's Report, from which it appeared that the total receipts of the year amounted to £23,305 10s. 8d., including a donation of ₤100 from the Queen, £100 from the Duke of Bedford, and a grant of £750 from the Committee of Council on Education.

LORD LYVEDEN, in proposing the first resolution, said,

Ladies and Gentlemen,-After the elaborate and interesting Report, with its eloquent peroration, that has been read to you by your secretary, and the equally interesting, though not, perhaps, so hopeful report, by your chancellor of the exchequer, it would be presumptuous as well as useless in me to occupy you at any length, in enforcing upon your attention the resolution which I have been requested to propose. Indeed, it would be impossible for me to do so; because, when I entered this room, I came as a spectator, unexpected; and I did imagine that, from the admirable arrangement that is usual in this Society, everything would have been so prepared for your entertainment that more conspicuous and eloquent persons would have been engaged to address you, before I was ever thought of. My feeling, however, now, is much as might be that of one of those boys whom you have been examining, if he had been whipped up in the streets, and, all of a sudden, placed in the first class, and in the first ranks, to answer the questions which were addressed to them. Such a situation would naturally make any man or boy nervous. unfortunately, prevented from attending throughout the examination, which is always so interesting, of the boys of this school. When I have attended those examinations, they have usually filled me with different feelings,-with feelings of pride, to think how the poorer classes of our fellow-countrymen were being advanced in education and intelligence, and with feelings of some shame, to think what a number of subjects there were that I did not know, that I never have known, and probably never shall know. The reason why I must be very brief in my observations to you now is, that I am about to attend a committee which is sitting in the House of Lords, upon what is called the extension of the franchise. After I myself, my noble friend in the chair, and all other public men, bave been, for the last ten years, addressing gentlemen on the hustings who occupy small tenements at £6 rent, and

I was,

telling them that they were highly educated, and were perfectly competent for any kind of office to which it pleased their country to call them, we are now actually inquiring as to whether these self-same men are educated, or intelligent, and, even further, what are their habits, and how far they are really capable of exercising the privilege of the franchise wisely. From that committee, gentlemen, I do hope to learn something valuable. I have heard, with the greatest pleasure, of the progress of your Society, I hear it with the greatest pleasure now, because I feared that the public interest in this matter was just now comparatively stagnant. But from what I have heard this day, I have good reason to hope that great exertions are being made, and are still to be made, in behalf of education. The education which is advocated here, and which I find from the Report of your Society, and have indeed long known to be the main object of your Society, is the scriptural education of the children of the people, without distinction of sect or party; and I am happy to find that you are able to say of this great object in your Report, "This is accomplished." But " progress is not completion," and I can assure you who live in towns that there is yet much to be done in the agricultural districts, in the way of the completion of education. Education is not the popular thing among the tenant-farmers that it ought to be, or that it is, perhaps, among the inhabitants of towns. There is no open resistance to education amongst the agricultural classes, but there is worse than that in many cases,a passive resistance which is quite as formidable; and it is against this that your Society will have to struggle. I am glad, by my attendance here, to do all that I can to honour the presidency of my noble friend. Lord J. Russell took up this cause when to promote education was said by some men to be almost the same as promoting infidelity, and when, therefore, you had to struggle with every opposition; and upon those occasions he always stood by you, and he has stood by you ever since, without ever flinching, whether he was engaged in the lighter tactics of opposition, or whether he was Prime Minister of this country, or whether he was, as he is now, engaged in administering the foreign business of the nation. But, although these tasks have fallen upon my noble friend, you have never found him other than willing to attend your meetings, which he has attended with great steadiness and with cordial interest throughout. But thanks to my noble friend, I know, will ever be due from you, and the expression of this feeling has been one of the objects of my attendance here to-day, while I am, at the same time, most anxious to show what little sympathy I could for the energies which you are exerting on behalf of education. I beg leave to propose to you,—

"That the Report, an abstract of which has just been read, be printed and circulated, under the direction of the Committee, and that the following gentlemen do form the Committee for the ensuing year."

The names of the gentlemen will, I have no doubt, be fully worthy of your confidence.

The names of the Committee for the ensuing year were then read. The Rev. SAMUEL MARTIN, of Westminster, said :—

In seconding, my lord, the adoption of this Report, I will venture to call the attention of the meeeting to several points in the document which have exceedingly interested me. I am very glad that the attention of the girls in British schools generally is being directed to domestic economy and to industrial skill. I cannot say that a little more progress on the part of the women in England in domestic and industrial skill would prevent wife-beating, but I certainly think it would often prevent wifescolding; and I am exceedingly anxious that that wife-scolding and that wifeworrying, which often goes on in that class of homes which the girls of these schools are likely to occupy, by-and-by, should, as soon as possible, be put down. Women may

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