sources a county contains for the formation of an earnest and efficient educational authority would be called forth.

But it is worth while to consider for a moment what would be the consequences (or some of them) of imposing on such a body the duties of a paramount' authority on elementary education. We know already, with regard to secondary education, something about the amount and the nature of the work likely to be imposed upon them, from our experience with regard to the technical side of it, including such technical instruction as can be given in evening schools.

We know that such work has not brought upon them any serious difficulties in the way of discipline among teachers, inspection or examination of schools or of scholars, statistics of attendance, or in the way of apportionment of grants.

It is possible that the necessities of a certain class of secondary schools may entail some further apportionment of public money. But, at the worst, if this should turn out to be the case, such duties would grow gradually out of the work of the committee itself, and would easily be met by provision made as the necessity should arise. But the assumption (or, rather, as it would be, the most unwilling acceptance) of the duties of a 'paramount authority' on elementary education would immediately bring down upon the committee, all unprepared and inexperienced in such matters as they would be, a hailstorm of difficult problems, and a heavy mass of duties in connection with them; for the whole system of elementary schools in the county would at once turn to the unfortunate committee, in hopes of getting better terms from them than they ever could expect from the Department. All the financial business of the multitude of schools, with the attendant examination of details and checking of registers, and the thousand and one other minute points affecting grants, &c., would be referred to them.

Is it possible to contemplate this (leaving altogether on one side the worst of all, the religious difficulty) without seeing that one of two results must follow? Either (1) a body which might perform thoroughly well such educational functions as in connection with secondary education have been above referred to, must be paralysed and overwhelmed under a mass of clerical and other work already efficiently performed in the central offices of a national department, or (2) a new office must be got together, as best it can be, in each county, which would be very far from representing, or in any way being part of, the county council, and its work would have to be superintended, not by county officials (even if there were any fit for the task), but by such amateurs as may be zealous enough to devote their leisure hours steadily to this purpose, and who reside near enough to the county town to be in constant daily attendance without inordinate waste of time and money in travelling.

For this kind of work cannot be done by occasional periodical
VOL. XL-No. 236

SS

committee meetings, with a staff of less than half a dozen clerks. It will require steady attendance of persons in authority, made competent by experience to give rapid decisions on a variety of points, and responsible for expenditure-and such persons it is not easy to gather daily from a county area. If this be not so, it is difficult to see in what sense the contemplated authority would be 'paramount,' or what was meant by the phrase ' decentralisation.'

Further, no allusion has so far been made to one of the most formidable objections to the proposal-namely, the impossibility of maintaining satisfactorily a national standard of attainments. The appointment and employment of inspectors is one (probably the most important) of the chief duties of a paramount authority. Therefore, under the proposed arrangement, either (1) the inspector must be appointed by one body and report to another; or (2) there must be double inspection, divergent reports, and varying apportionment of grants; or (3) the county paramount authorities must take entire charge of the inspection (i.e. appointment and employment of inspectors), and the resulting apportionment of grants.

It is difficult to say which of these three systems would be most disastrous in its effects.

Again, it has been somewhat thoughtlessly assumed that after this function has been put upon county councils, or upon committees acting with their authority, the composition of these bodies would remain the same as it is now. Reasons have already been given for doubting whether it be desirable that this assumption should be realised-such as the unfitness of county councils for such functions. But it is certain that they would not remain the same, and equally certain that they would not be improved from an educational point of view.

The introduction of a really important educational question among the subjects upon which a county council election has to take place would immediately alter the whole complexion of the contest. And as surely as it is true that individual experts in educational matters can hardly be chosen in a worse way than by direct popular election, so surely is it also true that a body chosen upon issues such as those attending School Board elections is not likely to show a degree of practical efficiency for other and more mundane subjects (such as roads, county buildings, asylums, pollution of rivers, and so forth) equal to that which has hitherto characterised our rural municipal authorities.

It has been argued in some quarters that some such proposal regarding elementary education as that contained in the Bill is necessary to create and maintain an intelligent interest in education.' In reply, it may fairly be maintained that when the county authority becomes responsible for the organisation of a supply of education adapted to the wants of all classes, except that provided

for with a parliamentary grant by the nation, there will be an ample field, and an adequate stimulus, for the exercise of such 'intelligent interest.' Attention may also be directed to the very great interest already shown in the various forms of technical education during the last five or six years. And it will hardly be suggested that for the chance of adding a little to that which has been already manifested it would be worth while to incur the risk, which amounts indeed to a certainty, of kindling, with reference to secondary education, the blaze which has burnt so fiercely and so detrimentally with regard to elementary education around the question of religious teaching.

There are, it must be remarked with regret, already some clouds lowering upon the horizon which threaten a storm when the wind really gets up and fills the sails of secondary education. One sees in the newspapers from time to time signs that the religious question is not to be allowed to be quietly settled, nor will even the present peace be permitted to continue undisturbed.

But it is tolerably certain that if the functions of county educational authorities with regard to secondary education could be allowed to be developed as occasion requires, without legislative restriction in religious matters, and if provision of secondary schools by rate becomes a necessity, the religious denominations will see efficiently to the provision of such teaching as they desire, and there will be no more sectarianism in county councils about secondary schools than there has been about roads and asylums.

The difficulties natural to the position of village public elementary day schools will not arise. Various denominations have already shown their capacity for establishing successful and efficient secondary schools. And the wise course in this respect is to let well alone, and leave it to each denomination to provide religious teaching for its own children.

What is really wanted is a free hand, coupled with adequate realisation of responsibility and adequate powers. If these are conferred upon the education committees of county councils, strengthened in the manner suggested (as mentioned above) by the recent Royal Commission; and if these committees are not overwhelmed by work, and smothered with details which do not properly appertain to them, and for which they are in no way fitted and are not at present capable of adapting themselves, there is no reason to anticipate failure.

If the Government are in earnest about education, let them pass quickly an efficient measure for the registration of teachers; let them provide for the constitution of a central authority which, through the system of registration, and as a centre of advice, and possibly of sanction, may render valuable assistance to local authorities; let them strengthen and set free the hands of county council committees,

and give them adequate powers with regard to rating and endowments. But no further burden need be placed on the Department. Evening continuation schools may be taken off its hands. No Imperial grant need be given for secondary education, and therefore no departmental interference will be necessary. With such encouragement as would thus be given to the practical manifestation of intelligent interest in education,' and with the prospect which would be afforded of some speedy, practical result, there can be no question that local energy would be quickly and effectually stimulated.

Evening continuation schools, exhibitions, scholarships, various grades of secondary schools, public and proprietary, will be provided to meet local requirements. The supply of qualified teachers, registered by a central authority, will be developed by the demand, and it may be hoped, if not confidently anticipated, that the universities will rise to the occasion, and seize the opportunity thus opened to them of guiding, stimulating, and to a large extent providing, the instruction for which an appetite is among all classes manifesting itself in the reception of the efforts already made to perform a task for which county councils have, as far as in them lies, proved their fitness by their success.

CHARLES THOMAS DYKE ACLAND.

1896

HORSE AMBULANCES

AMONG the many remarkable movements of the present generation for the relief of suffering humanity, none are more worthy of support and encouragement than those having for their object the wider dissemination of the means whereby temporary help may be given in the case of illness or accident, and the better and quicker transportation of the patient.

There can be no doubt that the lessons in giving first aid imparted by skilled instructors to the police, the army, and to numerous other classes and individuals throughout the country, have resulted in numberless instances in the prevention of a vast amount of needless suffering, that would otherwise have ensued as the result of unskilful handling of the patient in the first instance.

But it may be doubted whether that part of the ambulance system that deals with the actual transportation of the sufferer from the scene of accident to the hospital or home has advanced as rapidly towards perfection.

The ambulance in England is still, as a rule, in the nature of a hand stretcher.

The more rapid system of an ambulance wagon drawn by either one or two horses is seldom, if ever, employed, as it is in New York, where the system originated, in other cities of the United States, in Vienna, and to a limited extent in Paris, where it was started at the time of the war between France and Germany.

The idea of instituting horse ambulances, that should be summoned and sent out in cases of illness or accident with the same speed and regularity with which fire engines are called and despatched in the case of fire, originated in the year 1868 with Dr. E. B. Dalton, at that time the superintendent of the New York Hospital. Owing to a change in the disposition of that institution's property the suggestion was not acted upon at the time, but in the following year the Department of Public Charities and Correction approved of Dr. Dalton's proposals and the code of rules he had drawn up, and in consequence an ambulance service was adopted at Bellevue, the Municipal or Free Hospital of New York.