Report by Her Majesty's Inspector of Schools, the Rev. H. MOSELEY, M.A., F.R.S., on the State of Education in the Isle of Man.

MY LORDS,

October 31, 1847.

THE Bishop of Sodor and Man having applied for the inspection of the schools in the Isle of Man, I received your instructions to visit the island, in the month of September, 1847, to confer with his Lordship as to the state of education, and to report to you thereon.

I find that there are 52 elementary schools in the island, in which 2752 children are under instruction, being upwards of an eighteenth part of the entire population of the island. In 31 of these schools boys and girls are taught together, by the same teacher, who, in 23 cases, is a master, and in the remaining 8 cases a mistress.

It is provided by the common law of the island that a school should be built and maintained in substantial repair in every parish, by assessment upon the inhabitants; and one-third of the 52 schools above mentioned appear to be of this class of parish schools, taught in schoolhouses erected and kept in repair at the public expense. The remainder are either schools supported by public subscription, or private schools.

Towards the maintenance of the parish schools, a sum of about 2007. is set apart from the Impropriate Fund, at the disposal of the Bishop and Archdeacon, for church purposes. There is a further sum of 167. 13s. applied annually for this purpose, under the designation of Royal Bounty, and 391. annually arising from a bequest of Lady Elizabeth Hastings.

These funds are distributed amongst the schools in sums which appear to average about 81. to each school; and whatever is further contributed towards the maintenance of the school arises from the fees, called quarterages, paid by the children.

By the ecclesiastical constitution of the island, known as the constitution of Bishop Wilson, agreed upon at a convocation of the clergy at Bishop's Court, in February, 1703, accepted by the insular legislature, and published at Tynwald, on the 6th June, 1704, it is provided, section 9, that, For the promotion of religion and good manners, all persons shall be obliged to send their children, as soon as they are capable of instruction, to a petty (i.e. elementary) school, unless the parent give some just cause of

excuse.

Those who neglect, upon presentation of the minister and churchwardens, are to be fined 1s. per quarter. The minister and churchwardens may send those children free whose parents are too poor to pay for them.

In respect of all other children, the following scale of payments to the master is provided for by law, enacted A.D. 1813:

The amount produced by fees for the maintenance of the master is, of course, variable. The total annual income of the master, from the fees and from endowments, appears in few parochial schools to exceed 307., and in some to fall as low as 121. The parochial schoolmasters are appointed upon the recommendation of the minister and parishioners, under a licence from the Bishop, and appear to be removable for any cause which may disqualify them from the discharge of their duties, and justify the withdrawal of the Bishop's licence. The law which provides for the erection of a school in every parish, at the expense of the parish, does not provide likewise for the erection of a master's residence; and such residences appear, in point of fact, in few cases to have been provided. The quarterages, which contribute principally to the support of the master, are sometimes paid in kind. In 21 cases out of 51 reported to the Committee of the Educational Library, the method of teaching is that known as the monitorial system. In 26 cases the schools have no maps, or black boards, or other apparatus of instruction than books, benches, and desks.

The supply of slates and books is described as generally inadequate; and in many of the schools, by reason of the absence of books of secular instruction, the Holy Scriptures are had recourse to for the mechanical instruction of the children in reading.

The children whom I examined appeared to me singularly apt, quick, and intelligent, and fond of learning; and I have reason to believe that the parents are desirous that they should be instructed; that, in short, there is a public opinion generally favourable to education, as well among the industrial classes as among the farmers.

In many cases, perhaps in the majority, the parochial school is attended by the small farmers' and tradespeople's, as well as by the labourers' children.

The state of things which I have described is, in some respects, remarkable.

The principle of " State Education" appears to have received a legal recognition in the Isle of Man. First. The school-house is built and repaired by a legal assessment upon the community. Secondly. It is enacted by law that every child of a proper age

This payment does not appear to have the authority of the law, but is by custom. For instance, the master's field, or part of it, is ploughed in lieu of quarterage; or the payment is made in barley.

1 Statistical View of the State of Education in the Isle of Man,' furnished by the teachers of schools to the Committee of the Educational Library, Douglas, 1847.

shall attend the school. Thirdly. It is provided that certain children shall attend free of charge, the rate of payment of the rest being prescribed by law. Fourthly. It is forbidden by law that any man should exercise the profession of schoolmaster whose qualifications have not been ascertained by a competent authority, and who has not been duly licensed.

If, with a framework of laws such as this, the education of the island comes short of those results which are to be expected from it, the cause must arise from some administrative neglect. That it should have fallen into the hands of a body of masters, of whom a large proportion are, I fear, to be considered inadequately instructed, would be inexcusable, if the salary offered to a master were such as to secure qualified candidates for any vacancy in the office which may occur.

It is obvious that the fees, called quarterages, ought to be increased from time to time, by enactments similar to that which first fixed their amount. The principle which affixes an additional payment for every additional subject taught, has, however, I believe, been found to work ill wherever it has been tried. It offers to the master a temptation to neglect the children who pay him least, for those who pay him most; it prevents the children being advantageously classed in the school; and it is a system by which a child, who only learns one subject, is deprived of that assistance in learning it which he might derive from a knowledge of others.*

It is a far better arrangement, and one which, wherever I have known it to be tried, has worked well, to give all the children in the school equal advantages of instruction, but to fix the scale of payments according to the stations in life of the parents.

It is probable that the raising of the quarterages would not be objected to, if accompanied by a general improvement in the education offered by the schools of the island.

The following appear to be means available for that object.

Among the existing masters there are no doubt some who are to be considered in every respect qualified for the office; there are probably others, who, if a sufficient motive and due encouragement were afforded, would, in the course of time, render themselves so qualified; and there are perhaps some whom no such motive or encouragement could elevate to the standard of the responsible duties they have undertaken.

To the two first classes, the recent Minutes of the Committee offer the encouragement and the aid they stand in need of; not so as to render local co-operation unnecessary, but so as to call it forth. They suppose a union of the state (representing the whole community) and the particular community to be benefited in one common effort to raise the character of the school.

* Writing does not, for instance, in his case, assist reading or spelling, or conversely.