furnished on every point, and without expressing my admiration of the untiring zeal and enthusiasm and the remarkable tact and skill with which he discharges the duties of his office. To his great practical experience, his sound and enlightened views, and especially to the ardour with which he has devoted himself to the study of the best methods of conducting Normal schools, much of the excellence that characterises this seminary is owing. Of Mr. Stow's benevolent exertions it is unnecessary to speak. I have the honour, &c. Dr. Kay, Secretary. (Signed) JOHN GIBSON. REPORT on the State of ELEMENTARY EDUCATION in the County of NORFOLK; by SEYMOUR TREMENHEERE, Esq. London, August 21, 1841. SIR, THE duties pointed out to me in reference to a tour I was instructed by their Lordships to make through the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk consisted of, first, an inspection of certain British schools which had received aid from the public grant; secondly, an inquiry as to certain proposed British schools which were in progress; and thirdly, a general inquiry into the state of the elementary education now provided for the labouring classes in those counties. In the prosecution of these duties the amount of occupation afforded by the county of Norfolk alone rendered it expedient that, with the approbation of their Lordships, I should, with a view to this Report, confine my attention to that county. Accordingly, in addition to the results more immediately contemplated by my mission, I have to submit to their Lordships twelve special Reports on schools not subject to my inspection, but which I was requested by some of the chief promoters of each to examine and report upon for their guidance and information. Of these, four are in connexion with the National Society, three with the British and Foreign Society, and five not in connexion with either. Five other National schools formerly aided by the Treasury, the promoters of which had invited inspection, were also visited by me with the concurrence of the respective clergymen; and in numerous other instances I was invited to consult with the parochial clergy, the members of the committees of British schools, the trustees of endowed schools, and the leading supporters of those unconnected with any society, as to the improvement of existing schools, or as to the plans, arrangements, and methods most desirable for their several neighbourhoods. In affording this information wherever it was in my power consistently with other engagements, I was acting in conformity with Section 6 of the general instructional letter to Inspectors; and on the materials obtained on those occasions, and on what I collected by voluntary inquiries in the chief towns of Norwich, Yarmouth, and Lynn, and in 51 rural parishes in various parts of the county, I have founded the observations embodied in this Report. Towns-Norwich, Yarmouth, and Lynn Regis. I visited 32 schools for the labouring classes in Norwich, and found present at them 3552 children, by far the greater part under 10 years old. These schools were held in rooms capable of containing at a moderate estimate 4862 children, or upwards of 1300 more than were actually in attendance. They were supported, some entirely, others in part, by contributions of the wealthier classes; three entirely by endowment. From careful inquiries, and from a comparison of the list of those visited by myself with one published in 1839 by the Diocesan Board of the National School Society, I believe I left unvisited only four schools, differing in no respect in their general condition from those of a similar class which I was able to see. The common day and dame schools were not taken into the account; but, as far as I could ascertain, they were not numerous or fully attended. The result, as regards numbers, appeared clearly to be, that school accommodation was provided in Norwich for many more children than were actually under instruction in day-schools at the period of my visit. The labouring population of Norwich, for whose benefit the dayschools partly aided by voluntary contributions are designed, may be classed in two marked divisions; the first consisting of those whose chief support arises from the retail trade and the subordinate occupations common to all towns; the second of those who depend on hand-loom weaving, and on the employments afforded by the factories and the various kindred occupations connected with manufacturing labour. As the ordinary trade of the town arises chiefly from the wealthy agricultural district in which it is placed, the portion of the labouring population deriving support. from that department of industry may be said generally to earn a fair subsistence. The condition of the other section of the labouring community, that depending on manufacturing employments, -and especially and more notoriously that of the hand-loom weavers, is one of great and grievous depression. Accordingly, the children who attended at those schools with tolerable regularity, and who stayed longest, were, as I ascertained in many instances by enumeration, with the aid of the master or mistress, generally the children of parents belonging to the class first mentioned; while for the most part those of the manufacturing class, especially the hand-loom weavers, sent their children very irregularly, if at all; some from poverty, some (though I am inclined to believe a gradually decreasing number) from total disregard of the benefits of instruction, others from inability to clothe their children as they wish, others because they may want them at home, or may be unwilling to lose even a faint chance of making the smallest amount of money by their labour. In the short time I was able to devote to the inquiry, the main object of which was to observe the general amount of instruction professed to be given in those schools, and the method of imparting it, I did not attempt any exact estimate of the proportion which the number attending bore to those who did not. But my own observation and inquiries, which extended widely among the parts of the city inhabited by the lower population, and into their dwellings, coincided with opinions I heard generally expressed, that a large proportion of the children of the manufacturing labourers at Norwich are growing up without any adequate degree of regular and efficient instruction. That it is important to bring as many as possible of such children under the influence of real instruction is sufficiently obvious; and a conviction of this kind is not wanting at Norwich. Indeed it would appear to be particularly essential to the future well-being of society there, to make some earnest and substantial effort in that direction. Considering the condition of the adult manufacturing population, and how soon those who are now growing up will take their place, either falling into the actual prevailing condition, or into a worse, or contributing towards its gradual amelioration, it would seem especially desirable to seek for every reasonable means of guiding and improving those tendencies which are now in the course of rapid development either for good or for evil. The state of the weaving population of Norwich is well known. The absence of large capitals, and consequently of adequate commercial enterprise; ill-judged and unhappily too successful attempts on the part of the operatives to fix the rates of wages; external causes which neither masters nor men could control; have combined almost to extinguish the export trade of the city, and very considerably to limit the demand for its staple articles in the home market. The long war put an end to the supply of the worsted materials for the gay flowered dresses of the peasants of Germany, Switzerland, Russia, and Poland. The camlet trade with the Continent has declined since the peace; the same trade with India and China, through the medium of the East India Company, has nearly disappeared since the expiration of that Company's exclusive privileges. The spinning and weaving of cotton has been transferred to the factories of the north. The weaving and manufacture of crape, bombazines, challis, mousselins de laine, Norwich shawls, and other fancy articles, though exhibiting great skill and beauty of design and effect, are subject to great fluctuations, partly resulting from the caprices of fashion, partly from the competition of the cheaper products of Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Scotland. These causes of decline have been greatly aided by the unwise interference of the workmen with the introduction of machinery and the remuneration of labour-an interference which there is now a disposition to abandon when it is too late to repair many of its injurious consequences. The result of these concurring circumstances is a wide-spread and apparently increasing depression. Dr. Mitchell, in his Report on the Handloom Weavers of Norwich (October, 1838), states that the number of men, women, and children, whose occupation was that of spinning and weaving, was at that time about 5000. The numbers remain nearly the same, but there were not, in the opinion of persons conversant with the subject, more than 2200 employed at the period of my visit, (from 12th of May to 9th of June, 1841); between 600 and 700 of whom have, as I am informed, been since discharged for want of work. It was also stated to me, on competent authority, that for several years past there had seldom been less than 2000 persons belonging to these occupations out of employ from periods varying from one to four months at a time. In reply to extensive personal inquiries among the weavers themselves, at their looms, in their own houses, or elsewhere, the great majority stated that they were unemployed nearly half the year, and when employed could not earn as much as 7s. a week, by from 14 to 16 hours' labour; the few who earn more at the species of weaving requiring the higher degrees of skill are exceptions. I endeavoured to test their account by information derived from the masters, and by inspection of their books in some instances where I was kindly permitted to do so. I attended at one factory for some hours while the men were bringing in their work, and obtained from each an account of his earnings for some months previous. These accounts tallied with those I had before received from others. Reference was then made to the books, which were in most instances found to correspond with the recollection of the Of the numerous instances that presented themselves, two of the most favourable were the following: men. It appeared from the books that he had been steadily employed from January 2nd to May 29th, 1841, and that his gross earnings had been 81. 2s. 34d. This sum, divided by the number of days (140), gives 1s. 4d. per day. Fourpence however per day must be deducted for expenses, reducing his net earnings for 140 days to 1s. per day of 14 hours' work. W. C., weaver of common plain-loom work, at which the fairest rate of wages can be earned. This man had been in the service of his present employer for 30 years, and was said to be one of the best and most respectable workmen in Norwich: This sum, divided by the number of days (17), gives 1s. 4d. per day as his net earnings. He had been steadily employed from 17th July, 1840, to 29th May, 1841, and had earned in that period Deductions, calculated as above 28 3 11 7 0 0 £21 3 111 This, divided by the number of days (318), gives ls. 3d. a day, or 7s. 6d. a week. A period however is included (from July to December last) when earnings were 20 per cent. higher than they have averaged since. These were among the most favourable specimens; but the intelligent superintendent by whose aid I obtained them is of opinion, from calculations he has made, that the clear earnings of those employed in the weaving trade of Norwich do not exceed 3s. 6d. per week on the year's average; and this falls in with the assertions of the men themselves. The earnings of the women and children are small in proportion and fluctuating, and the occasional work obtained by the men, and of which the master can have no account, cannot be such as to alter materially their real circumstances. From such resources it is impossible to expect that any regular and sustained exertion can be made in behalf of the instruction of their children. It cannot be doubted that the pressure of absolute want is often and severely felt by that portion of the population. I visited personally a large number of the houses and cottages in the various parts of the town, and its suburbs, inhabited chiefly by the weavers and their families. In most cases I went into each house in a court or a row, and often into every room tenanted by a family in it. In other instances I went only into those where I heard a loom at work, or observed one that was idle. Nothing but ocular inspection can convey a just idea of the poverty and destitution there exhibited. The general characteristic was the almost entire absence of all those articles of furniture and indications of comfort which are usually seen in the dwellings of those in humble life: a table, two or |