Law Reports.

PROPOSED EXTENSION OF INSTRUCTION IN MARLBOROUGH GRAMMAR SCHOOL.

In the Court of Chancery, Nov. 3, 1843.

THE Lord Chancellor gave judgment on this information, which was argued before the vacation. The school was founded in the time of Edward the Sixth as a grammar school, and the petitioners sought to have the funds applied in a more extended manner, so that the system of education might embrace other branches of useful knowledge, in addition to the learned languages. Now if the funds of the charity were adequate to support such an extension, his Lordship would have felt no difficulty in acceding to the wishes of the petitioners, and of giving effect to them, by directing a reference to the Master to settle a scheme for the future regulation of the school on such a foundation; but the whole of the income of the charity, including the value of the house, did not amount to more than £250 a year—a sum in his lordship's opinion, not more than sufficient for the support of a grammar school, according to the declared intentions of the founders; and his lordship did not think, therefore, that he ought to withdraw any portion of the funds to be applied to other purposes, in contravention of such declared intentions. He was the less inclined to interfere with the present form of the charity, because he found that the school had been endowed to a very great extent by the liberality of the Duchess of Somerset, who had conferred on it several exhibitions. These exhibitions amounted altogether to the number of 24. They were to the colleges of Brasenose and St. John, and were shared with the schools of Manchester and Hereford. His lordship could not avoid thinking, that if he were to diminish the already scanty funds of the grammar school, by adopting the views of the petitioners, the school might incur the risk of losing hereafter its fair proportion of these valua. ble exhibitions. No complaint had been made of the conduct of the master of the school. It was admitted by the petitioners that he was a man of learning and ability, and that he had adopted a system by which the children of the inhabitants of Marlborough could obtain for the sum of five pounds annually, a competent instruction in all the ordinary branches of literature, in addition to that prescribed to be taught in a grammar school. It was stated at the bar, that out of twenty-nine scholars five only were free scholars; but the master was not answerable for that, no blame had been imputed to him, and there appeared to be no reasonable ground of complaint, as the inhabitants might avail themselves of the advantages of the school if they thought fit to do so. petition also prayed that two trustees should be appointed in the room of two of those who had been appointed under the Municipal Corporation Act, and were now dead. Now the number of the trustees were twelve, and his lordship saw no reason for the presentation of a petition for the appointment of two new trustees, when ten remained. No special grounds had been stated to warrant such an application, and it was proper for the protection of other charities not to encourage such applications. Another part of the petition asked for the appointment of a special visitor; his lordship saw no ground for the nomination of a special visitor, and under the circumstances, the prayer of the petition must be refused with costs.

THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL v. CHRIST'S HOSPITAL.

Before Sir J. K. Bruce, Nov. 15, 1843.

The

A testator named Penoyre, by will dated in 1818, directed that £2,000 sterling should be forthwith paid to the governors of Christ's Hospital, to be applied and disposed of by them in the education, clothing, and apprenticing as many children as they should be able to do with the annual interest thereof, without touching or sinking the capital; which children he desired might be

selected from amongst those of his father's and mother's relations, but should none of such relations want to present any child or children for 12 months after a vacancy should occur, then such vacancy to be filled up with a child or children of the families of William Webb, therein described, and Charles Hinde, therein also described; and should neither of the above families of his relations, or of Webb or Hinde, want a presentation for 12 months after the same had become vacant, then he desired that the vacancy be filled up by the Court of Assistants of the Apothecaries' Company, London, with a child of a freeman of the said company; so that there might be always as many children educated, clothed, and supported, as might be from the interest of the legacy, after deducting therefrom what the said governors of the corporation of Christ's Hospital, London, might deem necessary for managing and effecting his above wishes. The testator died in 1821, and the hospital having neglected to take the gift, an information was filed by the Attorney-General in 1832, and in June, 1833, a decree was made by which it was declared that the £2,000 was well given, and that the court would execute the trusts, and directed an account to be taken of the trust fund; and it directed that a scheme should be approved by the Master, he having regard to the directions of the will. The fund now amounts to £3,408 19s 2d., three per cent, reduced bank annuities. The Master by his report, dated the 29th of July, 1843, among other things found that the governors of the hospital had refused to accept the legacy upon the terms of the will, insisting that, from the nature of the bequest, it was only calculated to involve the institution in perpetual litigation, and was imposing on them a very onerous burden, and depriving them of the patronage. The Master also found that it had been agreed between all parties, that two boys should be kept upon the books of the institution for 50 years, from the 1st of January, 1844; that Mrs. Penoyre, the present head of the Penoyre family, should have the patronage for life of one presentation, and after her death that her daughter, only child and heiress-at-law, should in like manner exercise the patronage as to that one boy; but if she should die within the 50 years, that the person who takes the Penoyre estates at Moor Clifford should present, and if he or she be a minor, then that his or her trustees or guardians should do so; that as to the other boy, that patronage should be exercised by the Rev. Mr. Webb and his heirs for 50 years, with the like patronage as to the trustees or guardians of infant heirs. The Master approved of this scheme, and so the matter came before the court.

Mr. Simpkinson and Mr. Metcalfe were for the relators, Mr. Wigram and Mr. Terrell for the defendants, and Mr. Wray for the Attorney-General.

His honour thought, that after 50 years the sum might very properly go to the general charitable purposes of Christ's Hospitel. The arrangement was a proper one, and ought to be carried into effect.

Statistics.

STATE AND EXTENT OF EDUCATION IN THE ARMY.

THE state of education in the army is not unworthy of notice. It will be seen (referring to tables given) that the great majority of the army are between the ages of 16 and 25, and that 66 per cent. of that number can read and write. If 5 per cent. be deducted from this for the officers, we still have 60 per cent. who can read and write, a higher proportion than in the general community. The rapid advance in the succeeding periods up to 78 per cent. of those between 26 and 35, &c., may be, in part, due to the officers bearing a larger numerical proportion to the men as ages advance, and in part to the better educated alone being advanced and retained, while the men who are discharged, are generally of the uneducated class; but this fact, probably, also shows that many learn the

rudiments of education after they have enlisted, which will doubtless, be much more the case, since the recent arrangement for supplying libraries to soldiers in barracks.

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Upon the whole, it is gratifying to see that, compared with the mass of the population, the army is by no means an uneducated class, and that its educational wants are not neglected by the absence of encouragement. This improved condition appears also to be shared by the women attached to the army, of whom 64 per cent., between the ages of 16 and 25, will also be found in the higher class. Our returns of the regimental schools are not sufficiently complete for publication, and it was found that the children of soldiers detached, were not unfrequently attending the ordinary schools of the country; we have not, therefore, been able to compile a table to show their numbers; but while the average of the kingdom exhibits 46 males and 59 females wholly ignorant, the same class in the military returns exhibits only 18 males and 22 females."

"It may, perhaps, be interesting to contrast the qualification of armies in education, rather than in the qualities in which they more commonly compete. The education of the French army may be directly measured by that of the conscripts. Of them it has been stated that 38 per cent. in 1829,* 48 per cent. in 1835,† and 49 per cent. in 1836, could read and write. Assuming, as we doubtless may, that there has been a considerable advance in education since that period in France, we yet find that this proportion still falls short of the number, 60 per cent., given above, as marking the education of the British army. But, compared with the population at large, the comparison will not be favourable to Ireland, as, if the conscripts of 1835 were 18 years of age, they must have been within the educational age of 5 and 15 between the years 1821 and 1831, for which section of the population there is in Ireland but 47 per cent. to contrast with the 49 of France. It has, however, been stated by a recent writer (M. Boulay) that more than half the French population can neither read nor write, so that the conscripts would appear to be considerably above the average, marking a decided advance in the rising race-an improvement, it is to be feared, greater than that which has marked many parts of Ireland, though, upon the whole, the diminution of ignorance during the last 50 years has been, of males, from 48 to 35 per cent., and of females from 69 to 45 per cent.-Report of the Commissioners for preparing the returns under the census for 1841, p. 38.

IT

DIOCESE OF LINCOLN, HERTFORDSHIRE.

appears that in a population of 43,323 persons living in those parishes, the schools of which have been inspected, there are educated in the principles of the Established Church 4,350 children, making an average of rather more than 1 in 10. This calculation does not include children attending sunday schools only, but those in weekly schools, as the rural deans being employed in their own parishes on the Sundays were of course unable to inspect sunday schools. Population of the deanery of Hertford, about 17,000.

Children of the poor receiving education—

Making a total of children receiving instruction according to the principles of the Established Church of 2,110.

From this general statement, it will appear that in a population of about 17,000 there are 2,110 children-295 boys, and 1,115 girls, receiving daily and weekly instruction at the different schools within the deanery; and that of these, 1,224-viz. 542 boys, and 682 girls, are instructed at schools in union with the board. There is not a single parish which is not provided with a school for the education of the poor, and in some it is afforded without any charge, and in others at one penny per week. For the only place in which it has not been afforded, provision is now making by the erection of a schoolroom.-The third annual report of the Board for that part of the county of Hertford which is in the diocese of Lincoln.

Entelligence.

Great Increase of Candidates for Confirmation.-The Bishop of Lincoln, in the tour which he has just completed, confirmed 11,090 young persons, being nearly 1,000 more than were admitted to that sacred rite during his lordship's last diocesan circuit.

The Bishop of London has in the present year confirmed more than 20,000 persons, being a considerable increase on the numbers confirmed in 1840. His lordship has announced his intention to hold confirmations in one half of his diocese every year, so that every clergyman will have an opportunity of presenting candidates for confirmation once in two years.

National Society.-The Committee of the National Society met at the Sanctuary, Westminster, on the 1st of November.

A letter was read from His Grace the President, appointing the Rev. W. J. Kennedy, of St. John's College, Cambridge, and Curate of Kensington, Secretary of the Society.

The Treasurer reported, that her Majesty had been graciously pleased to grant a letter, authorising collections to be made throughout England and Wales, in aid of the Society's funds. The object of this letter is to extend and improve popular education, not only in the manufacturing and mining districts, but in agricultural Parishes, in Commercial and Seaport towns, and generally throughout the Country.

The Treasurer reported that the special fund amounted to upwards of £115,000, (now Nov. 24th, £126,908 14s.) and was increasing at the rate of £400 a day.

National Society's Special Fund, and Queen's Letter.-At the annual meeting of the Ripon Diocesan Board, it was stated by the Bishop that one object to which the special fund would be devoted would be the training of schoolmasters, either entire or temporary. As to the temporary training, the committee having the control of the fund, had agreed to grant exhibitions to fifty persons to train for schoolmasters for schools in the manufacturing districts. These ex

hibitions would extend to six months for each person, at 12s. a week. At first it was thought it would be best to divide these between the training schools of York and Chester; but it was afterwards considered to be better to leave them open to all the training schools in the kingdom, but to be only for schoolmasters for the manufacturing districts. His Lordship was also happy to say, that the Queen's letter had been issued in favour of the National Society, and he believed it was intended to give the proceeds towards the education in the agricultural districts.

University of Oxford.-It gives us much satisfaction to observe, that in a