COMPULSORY EDUCATION IN ENGLAND.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1495, 1 March 1887, Page 3

COMPULSORY EDUCATION IN ENGLAND.

♦ m I Compulsory education m Great Britain meets with many drawbacks, owing raaln'y to the eztceme poverty of the parents of the ohildren. A woman was recently snmmoned before the magistrate at Southwark, and was fined 2b foe not sending her ten-year-old daughter to school, and In defence she pleaded that she was bo poor that she oould not procure a pair of aboes for the girl, and how was It then possible for her to pay the fine ? In another oase a mother stated that the did not send her children to school became she had no breakfait to give them, and, to her mind, it wonld be adding to their misery In making them lesra their lessons on an empty stomach. The . mother, like a great many others of her dais, was too proud to dißolose her abj< cvwant, and was even unwilling to accept charitable assistance. A simple remedy has been foond for suoh cases In the formation of soup kitohens connected wi'h ,the schools In the poor neighbourhoods of the large oitiea, where a 'good wholosorae iueal is furnished almost at a nominal sutnl at Birmingham one kind only of uoup is made, and if the dinner is rejected by many ohildren it is given up or some alteration is made m the recipo. The popularity of every dish is thus thoroughly tested, and tbo result is a complete surprise, and the cheapest forms of food are found to be most popular among the children. If their taste could be con* suited, it would be found that they would prefer pea or lentil Boup every day, as they care not a jot for vnrioty. It must, however, be remembered that the care with which these soups are made, the experiments that have been tried as to the best 'proportions of the ingredients end the manner of cooking, result m producing a form of food more palatable to children ihan any soaps prepared m a first- class hotel. After repeated experiments, the quantity of food sold for a half-penny (1 cent.) has been increased to three quarters of a pint of excellent ana nutritioui soup, together with two rounds of bread, weighing about a quarter of a pound, one of which ilioes is spread with jam. According to Count Ruuford's ideas, and he la a practical authority en euoh questions, this meal should be more than enough for an adult Acting on this idea, it has been found advisable to admit two small ohildren for one halfpenny to share the meal between them, and now sometimes only a farthing it taken for half a portion. It is generally admitted that this method is far superior to that where financial aid !■ given through voluntary contributions. Ifc teaohea the children habits of thrift and self *reHanoe, and it is expected that with further experiments dinners wi'l Boon be famished to the ohildren as good, as abundant, and as healthful as those originally provided In the lobools for one