III. Head APPENDIX B. been 633 pupils admitted to the female evening school: there are 81 pupils at present on its books. There have been 448 admitted to the female day-school; and there are 98 at present on its books. The attendance may appear small, considering the great number of persons employed in and about the concern (nearly 2,000); but it must be borne in mind, that a large proportion of them live at a distance in the country, and there is, besides, another large school in the village adjoining. Dr. Patten. I fear you will consider this communication rather prolix, but I was anxious to reply to you as fully as possible on a subject in which I feel so deeply interested, and will, therefore, leave it to yourself to extract from it just whatever may seem to answer your purpose. I am, dear Sir, very truly yours, James Patten, Esq., Head Inspector of J. W. M MASTER. To the Pupil-Teachers and Paid Monitors, we now look forward with great hope and confidence, who, in a brief period of time, will be appointed Masters in many of our schools— who, from training, habits of order, and discipline previously received, will be able, from the commencement, to make favourable progress in the face of many obstacles and privations, almost inseparable from schools situated in the poorer localities; as, unfortunately, in these situations, where they are more required, the efficient and skilled Teacher is seldom found. The native of the parish, or, it may be, of the townland, of the red bog, or the hill-side, is alone forthcoming, and to him is forthwith intrusted the dearest interests of the rising generation. The Inspector visits the school, reports on the new appointment, makes objections on the score of qualification; but, being informed that "no better can be had," the man is retained on trial, when after the lapse of, perhaps, two years, through the agency of the special examinations, he may be dismissed as incompetent. During all this time the school is barely alive, the children are untaught, and the taste for education is extinguished. A Manager, although he may be often mistaken in minor details, will not be likely to appoint a Teacher whose character, appearance, and attainments are not likely to render him suitable. Every person who thinks at all must have observed, that the organization of a system on a great, or even a small scale, is still the work of time. For instance, it would bewilder the cleverest man that ever lived, to take him into a large manufactory, and without any previous preparation, Inspected. Dr. Patten. demand from him the duties of a workman therein; and yet, Appendix B. perhaps, a person of very moderate abilities is able to fill, III. Head very creditably, a most responsible position "in that vast Inspectors' hive of industry." Inquire, and you will find that such a Reports man has arrived by slow degrees at the comprehension of the on Schools orderly system that prevails, he hardly knows how the thing has occurred; but the more he has to do the more he seems capable of performing; such are the elevating and civilizing influences of order, skill, and method. Of course I am not speaking of those who, from natural incapacity, or inability to acquire even a moderate knowledge of their duties, never ought to have sought for the situation which it is in this case their fault to fill. Forty, or even twenty years ago, incompetency, and even stupidity, had some chance of being tolerated, but in this age of the electric wire, and the iron road, all classes to live in it must go along with it. The old and worn-out Teacher of fifteen years' service, and upwards, who from age and infirmity is unequal to the continuous labour and exertion inseparable from school keeping, should have some means of obtaining support, other than continuing in the school to the positive injury of the public; or if eventually turned out, finding, to his sorrow, that starvation, or the workhouse, must be his melancholy alternatives. How are we, then, to remedy this? How are we to get rid of these worn-out, and consequently now incompetent Teachers? How are we to infuse new blood, life, and vigour, into the system? for, according to the old adage, "As is the schoolmaster, such will be the school." The answer to these questions, however, is plain and obvious-simply by a graduated scale of compensation. Were the Commissioners to grant a retiring pension to old and deserving Teachers, after a service of a fixed number of years, as has been already done by the Committee of Council on Education since the year 1846, (see their Lordships' Minutes of the 25th August, 1846,) which provide for retiring pensions to be granted to Teachers "who shall be rendered incapable from age or infirmity, of conducting their schools efficiently,"* we would not then find, as is now too often the case, inportant schools in the charge of Teachers of the above description and whom the Managers would willingly remove, were there any other provision for their maintenance. The sum required for this purpose would not be large, and the arrangement would be followed by the very best results. I have made inquiries in the districts with which I am connected, and I find that the number of Teachers who would probably be recommended for retiring pensions would not • See further information on this subject, Note A appended. III. Head APPENDIX B. exceed six or seven per district on the average, and this number would be diminishing each subsequent year; so that in the forty-four districts into which the kingdom has now been divided, there would be about 308 Teachers for whom a retiring pension would have to be provided. Inspectors' Dr. Patten. The Rev. H. Mosley, Her Majesty's Inspector of Schools, in his Report to the Lord President, proposes, in addition to the retiring pensions secured to deserving Teachers by the operation of the Minutes of Council in 1846, the establishment of a Mutual Assurance Society for Teachers upon a secure and durable basis, to which the Teachers could, with confidence, make periodical deposits. This would considerably relieve the anxiety which has long been experienced by them in providing the means of support in sickness and old age, and in contributing towards the maintenance of their families in case of death. An abstract of the plan for creating a Teachers' Superannuation Fund, as recommended by the Rev. H. Mosley, I take the liberty of inserting in Note B. Any of the plans of the existing superannuation funds for the benefit of the civil servants of the State might be made available, viz.-superannuation allowance to the civil servants of the East India Company; funds for widows and orphans of the civil servants of the East India Company; fund created by the Trinity House for the support of the widows and orphans of its servants; funds for the support of the widows and orphans of the Schoolmasters of Scotland. The Servants' Provident and Benevolent Society is conducted, I understand, on an admirable plan: one of its chief objects is, to provide deferred annuities that is to say, annuities commencing at some future day-for instance, at the annuitant's reaching sixty years of age, by paying a yearly sum during youth and middle age. I cannot, perhaps, do better than give a short extract from the admirable speech of His Royal Highness Prince Albert, made at a public meeting of the Society, in May, 1849: "The advantages which are held out by the financial scheme of this Society, are based upon the credit of the country at large, and the faith of the Government. It is regulated by an Act of Parliament, called the 'Deferred Annuities Act. Its principles are shortly these: that, according to the tables which I have here before me, any body whose income does not exceed £150, may, by a small instalment, purchase an annuity, to be deferred for not less than ten years, but which, after that period, may begin at any time the depositor may choose to name. One annuity cannot be more than £30, but a depositor may purchase distinct annuities for his wife and children, provided the latter shall have attained the age of fifteen years. Should he wish at any time to withdraw his APPENDIX B. deposits, they will be returned to him, provided the withdrawal III. Head takes place before the annuity commences. Should he die before Inspectors' that period, his deposits will be returned to his heirs; in such a Reports case, the only loss he can sustain will be the interest on the money Inspected. deposited." These words express as clearly and briefly as possible the advantages to be derived, and the passage marked in italics deserves particular attention. Payments of Children.-In the majority of the schools I have visited, the school fees have been paid pretty regularly, and form a striking contrast when compared with the struggling schools of the Western Districts. It must be borne in mind, however, that many of the pupils entered as paying certain rates occasionally fail in duly meeting their engagements; and the Teacher, at the termination of each quarter, when examining his accounts, frequently finds a considerable deficit on the item of school fees. Yet it appears from the annexed table that the average annual income of each Teacher, from school fees alone, is £8 15s. 43d. per annum; while, in my former report on schools situated in the less favoured counties, the fees are set down at £3 28. 74d. per annum on the average. The other sources of income particularized in the table, together with the Board's salary, which averages £17 1s. 10d. a-year, bring up the total income which the Teachers on the average receive from their schools, including all sources, to £30 28. 44d. per annum. My report on the schools visited in the year 1850, in the Counties of Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Monaghan, and Fermanagh, exhibits the average income of the Teachers, including all sources, so low as £22 4s. 6d. : on Schools Dr. Patten. .81 of these free admissions belong to the Gilford Mills' Infant School, which has been included in the Girls' Schools. Teachers' Incomes.-The following Table exhibits the Annual Incomes of the Teachers as derived from various sources: Now the number on the rolls in these schools at the time of Inspection being 2,750, it follows from the preceding Table . paid} That the average amount of payment made } Observance of Rules.-The Rules and Regulations of the Commissioners have been in general faithfully observed. Any slight infringement that may have occurred has always arisen from inadvertence, or, it may be, from ignorance on the part of recently appointed Teachers; but never, in any instance, from wilful neglect. Religious Instruction.-In all the schools I have visited, Religious Instruction is regularly given on Saturdays, under the direction of their respective clergy, and in accordance *One of these is a Workmistress receiving £8 per annum from the Board. † One school not included. |