In 1832 the hours of labour for mill hands were 69 per week, and the hours of other workpeople were in proportion, now they are only 561; bricklayers, &c., 52 to 54. It will thus be seen that at the present day much higher wages are paid than formerly, though a considerably less number of hours are worked. Not only has legislation done much to promote the happiness, contentment, and well-being of the people by reducing the hours of labour, but also by appointing efficient inspectors to visit the mills, workshops, collieries, &c., of the country. In the case of mills they compel such arrangements as will, as far as possible, protect the hands from liability to accidents from the machinery; they see to the proper whitewashing and cleansing of mills, so as to ensure the healthy character of the workshop; and in the case of collieries and mines, the Legislature compel such arrangements as will, as far as possible, remove all danger of accidents, and protect the lives of the workmen employed. In the matter of education, this country is considerably behind some European countries; nevertheless, during the present century, as I have before intimated, great progress has been made in education, especially during the last thirty or forty years. In the year 1818, a Select Committee of the House of Commons was appointed to inquire into the education of the poor, and returns were obtained from the different parishes of Great Britain. The following is an abridged digest of the returns for England. I give the Table entire, as it may be of interest to the general reader. A General Table, showing the state of Education in England in 1818*: Derby 116 3,825 Devon 200 Dorset Durham.... Essex Gloucester.. Hereford Hertford Huntingdon Lincoln Middlesex Monmouth ... Norfolk 5,973 326 11,154 127 11,222 6,069 5,737 880 24,564 123 10,128 54 1,177 2,554 282 8,747 166 9,501 3,179 1,803 353 15,012 76 8,083 5,366 5,366 6,465 404 12,257 208 12,667 69 112 161 4,984 1,424 9,727 3,941 11,034 362 10,827 238 17,210 65 1,897 2,406 131 3,811 39 2,693 45 1,655 2,218 221 6,380 81 38 1,040 1,086 93 2,493 32 149 7,474 9,804 560 21,604 130 217 12,428 16,791 450 26,205 208 51,610 87 2,962 3,934 239 6,787 182 12,185 166 5,489 8,979 543 14,869 126 5,834 157 16,130 98,050 385 23,289 110 16,773 16 498 1,288 75 3,130 14 592 100 3,723 5,217 589 16,695 211 9,804 Northampton... 126 4,250 4,250 3,938 271 6,967 191 11,724 Northumberland... 45 2,242 Nottingham... 72 2,652 2,337 289 13,759 46 3,937 3,976 308 10,422 119 10,103 Forward...... 2,186 102,866 209,1268,698 294,5303,052 264,847 Total ........ 4,167 165,433,299,525 14,282 558,8495,082 452,817 From the last Report of the Committee of Council on Education, I find that the number of children who are at the present time on the register of schools under Government inspection is 2,497,602; and, in *This Table is taken from a return quoted in Knight's British Almanac for 1834, but there are some slight errors in the additions in his almanac. For instance, he adds the total day scholars up to 478,149. I have corrected these in the above Table, but probably it will be well to take the numbers given as only approximate, and not as being so exact as the returns of the present day. EDUCATION-SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 83 addition to these, there are many schools not under inspection; so that I shall be within the mark if I estimate the present attendance at day schools as five times that of 1818. The population then was a little below half of what it is to-day, which would give about two-and-a-half times the number of day scholars for the same population. The Sunday-school system of the country had scarcely been developed in 1818, for at that time there were only 452,817 scholars in the various Sunday schools of the country; since then, however, they have grown marvellously. The present number of scholars, however, cannot be accurately given, as there has been no return since 1851. That year the number was taken in the Census, and is given as 2,407,602. The population of England and Wales at that time was 17,982,849, whereas now it is 23,944,459; and if we assume that Sunday schools have grown in the same ratio as the population, the present number of scholars will be 3,200,000, or seven times as great as in 1818, or, taking into account the difference in population, about threeand-a-half times as many. In addition to the great increase which has taken |