Chapter XLVI

_Progress of Education in the Eighteenth
and Nineteenth Centuries._

AN account of the rise and progress of primary education in Scotland, and of the act of the Scottish parliament of 1696, which enforced the parish school system, was given in the preceding volumes; and that system continued with little variation through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries till the introduction of the new Education Act in 1873, which placed the management and organisation of primary schools upon a different footing. There is little of national importance concerning the parish schools to record in the eighteenth century. But it should be specially observed, that even in the seventeenth century the general intelligence of the Scotch people was in advance of the surrounding conditions of their material civilisation; in other words, their moral and intellectual faculties were further developed and organised than their practical knowledge of the mechanical and industrial arts of life. This interesting social phenomenon became distinctly manifest before the end of the seventeenth century, as was shown in the last volume; and, by the middle of the eighteenth century, when the internal peace and order of the country became more assured, then the results of the previous moral and intellectual training of the nation appeared in every direction. Thus it was that Scotland started on a career of progress which has not only changed the face of the country, but also contributed to advance the industry of the civilised world, as has been indicated in this volume.

In the Highlands of Scotland, the old parish school system was ineffective, owing to various circumstances: (1). Some of the parishes were so large and the inhabitants so thinly spread over them that regular attendance at the school was impracticable; (2). No means were provided for teaching the Celtic boys and girls through their own language. Thus, when they entered the school, though they did not know a word of the English language, yet teachers of the schools usually spoke nothing but English, and taught from books entirely in English; so Highland boys had to learn a foreign language without the least assistance from their mother tongue. Efficient teaching by this method was out of the question.

In the burghs and towns much interest continued to be taken in the education of the young. In the latter half of the eighteenth century, in Glasgow, the children were usually sent to the English school at five or six years of age; at seven or eight they were sent to learn Latin in the Grammar School; and at eleven or twelve they were enrolled at the College.¹ In the schools of other towns the age at which children entered was about the same as above.

¹ Macgregor’s _History of Glasgow_, page 361.

The Government began to give annual grants in aid of education in 1834; the first grant amounted to £20,000, which continued till 1839, when the committee of the Privy Council on Education was instituted. Afterwards the annual grants were gradually increased; and from 1839 to the close of the year 1865, the total sum given to the primary schools of Scotland was £1,055,765, which was divided among the schools connected with the Established Church, with the Free Church, the Episcopal Church, and the Roman Catholic Church. These grants were made conditional on a certain amount of local subscriptions being raised, and the operation of this was extremely unsatisfactory; for the localities most in need of assistance seldom got it――the crowded districts in large towns, and the thinly-peopled rural districts unable to raise the required quota of local funds, got none of the grant. The result was that those least in want of Government money got most of it, while those most in need of it rarely got any.

Shortly after Government grants began, Government Inspectors of Schools were introduced into Scotland. At first there were only a few, but they multiplied rapidly. In 1864 there were ten Government Inspectors of Schools; six for the schools connected with the Established Church, three for the Free Church schools, and one for the schools of the Episcopal Church. In 1867 they had increased to thirteen; but, since the introduction of the new Education Act in 1873, the institution of Government Inspectors has rapidly developed. In 1879, there were upwards of forty Inspectors of Schools in Scotland, while at present there are over one hundred on this side of the Tweed.

The Free Church, for many years after the Disruption, gave a marked impetus to the development of education in Scotland. From 1843 onwards for a quarter of a century, a large number of Free Church schools were erected throughout the country. In 1862, she had three hundred and seventy-seven certificated male teachers, one hundred and eleven certificated female teachers, five hundred and ninety-four male pupil teachers, and two hundred female; while at this date the number of teachers in the schools connected with the Established Church was six hundred and thirty-two certificated male teachers, two hundred and fifty certificated female teachers, eight hundred and ninety male pupil teachers, and three hundred and eighty-five female. In 1865, the number of male certificated teachers actually employed in teaching in the Free Church schools was four hundred and forty-two, and twenty-three assistant teachers, one hundred and forty-five certificated female teachers, three hundred and eighty-one male pupil teachers, and one hundred and seventy-two female. At the same time in the Church of Scotland schools there were eight hundred and forty male certificated teachers actually employed in teaching, three hundred and fifty-one certificated female teachers, seven hundred and twenty-seven male pupil teachers, and three hundred and fifty female. Moreover, the Free Church has erected normal schools and colleges of her own; and thus she has contributed to advance education in Scotland.

Since the introduction of the Education Act in 1873, many excellent new schools have been built throughout the country. The enforcement of the compulsory clause of the Act has been rendered more practicable since the abolition of fees in the primary schools. In recent years, also, there has been some improvement in the method of teaching. In the year 1893‒94, the money expended on education in Scotland amounted to one million and a half pounds, of which about one half came from the Imperial Exchequer, and the other from local rates.

Sabbath schools began to be formed in Scotland about the beginning of the present century, and within recent years they have been greatly developed. Each body of Christians has their own system or organisation of these schools, while there are a number of Sabbath schools in which all denominations are welcomed, and freely taught without distinction.

Reformatory schools began to be certified by Government in Scotland about the middle of the present century; and industrial and ragged schools began to be certified about the same period. Both classes of these have been established in the large towns of Scotland for a considerable number of years; as to whether they have answered the ends originally contemplated, is a much disputed point, on which I must refrain from entering.

In the last volume I explained the course of education taught in the grammar or burgh schools; and it continued with little variation through the greater part of the eighteenth century. The teaching of geography was introduced into those schools in the beginning of the eighteenth century, and the elements of mathematical science began to be generally taught about the middle of that century. In 1761, astronomy and several other branches of physical science were taught in the Grammar School of Ayr, and in Perth Academy.¹ There was also a drawing-master in Perth Academy in 1777, and French was likewise taught in Perth in 1769, Haddington in 1721, Stirling in 1755, Ayr in 1761, and in other towns. But English was not thoroughly taught as a special branch in the grammar schools till well through the present century.

¹ Burgh Records.

A very marked improvement has been effected in the teaching in grammar and secondary schools within a recent period. The course of instruction in these schools usually embraces the following branches: ――(1) Classics――Latin and Greek; (2) Arithmetic and Mathematics; (3) Science; (4) English, French, and German; (5) Vocal and Instrumental Music; (6) Writing and Drawing; (7) Elocution; while in some schools Phonography, Freehand and Technical Drawing, and Handicrafts are also taught. Many of the gentlemen at the head of these schools in Scotland are able and highly qualified instructors and organisers, and are well seconded by staffs of competent teachers.

There are also a number of schools and institutions specially employed in technical and art teaching. Knowledge and skill in these branches is becoming more necessary as civilisation advances; in order to hold our own we must make the utmost effort.

After the notices and references to the teaching and writings of many of the professors given in the preceding pages, it would be superfluous to enter into long details of the Universities themselves; and I shall only touch briefly on a few points.

A Royal Commission was issued for a visitation of the Universities and Colleges of Scotland in August, 1826, to which I referred in a preceding volume;¹ this commission continued its sittings and investigations till the 28th of October, 1830, when their report was finally revised and copies ordered to be printed. In the course of their inquiries they collected a vast mass of evidence which fills three very large volumes; and anyone who desires to have ample information about the Scotch Universities, from their foundation to 1830, should consult these volumes. In 1837, a bill was brought into parliament which proposed to appoint a board of visitors for each of the Universities of Scotland. These boards were to act as executive commissions to carry out, with modifications, the recommendations of the royal commission; they were to frame statutes and regulations, which, after receiving the sanction of the Privy Council, would then become law. But the proposal was vehemently opposed in Scotland, and the Government abandoned it.

¹ Mackintosh’s _History of Civilisation in Scotland_, Volume
II., page 409.

In 1843, the Disruption of the Church came, and this event had a remarkable influence on the Scotch Universities. The Church of Scotland could no longer present a united front in her control of the Universities, and from that hour her hold upon them began to slacken. A movement for University reform was inaugurated; and, in 1853, a bill was passed in parliament which enabled Free Churchmen legally to hold chairs in the Scotch Universities. On the 22nd April, 1858, the Lord Advocate of Scotland brought before parliament a bill entitled, “An Act to make provision for the better government and discipline of the Universities, and improving and regulating the course of study therein, etc.”; this Act was passed on the 2nd of August. Its main provisions were the following:――

(1) The erection of a select body called the University Court, as one of the ruling bodies, for each University; (2) a parliamentary grant of £10,000 per annum, to increase the professors’ salaries and establish some new chairs; (3) to provide for assistant professors; (4) clauses providing for the amalgamation of the two Colleges of Aberdeen; (5) the creation of University councils. The first thirteen sections of the Act laid down the future constitution of the Universities of Scotland; and the fourteenth named and appointed an Executive Committee to carry the intention of the Act into effect, and to form ordinances for the regulation of the revenues, studies, degree systems, election of officers, and all other important points in the organisation of the four Universities. Their decisions were subject to the review of parliament and appeal to the Privy Council.

The commissioners held their first meeting on the 27th of August, 1858, and elected the Lord Justice Clerk of Scotland, Inglis, chairman of the commission. The commission continued in office for four years and some months; they held one hundred and twenty-six meetings, and framed ninety-two ordinances, very few of which were disallowed. It was under this Act and ordinances that the Scotch Universities were ruled; or, in other words, the Universities are mainly controlled by the University Court, the Senatus and General Council, under the ordinances then framed. The following is a part of the general report of the commission in reference to future alterations of ordinances:――“While providing means for altering the commissioners’ ordinances, where such alterations may be desirable, the Universities Act has been careful to interpose securities against rash change, by requiring the consent of the Chancellor and the Queen in Council. In this latter requirement the commissioners understand it to have been the intention of the legislature that the steps for effecting the alteration of an ordinance hereafter should be precisely similar to those which were necessary to its original sanction. It is obviously, they think, of importance that when any such alteration is proposed, the same publicity should be given, and equal opportunities for making objections to the proposed change afforded, as were required in passing the ordinance. In addition, however, to publishing any proposed change in the _Edinburgh Gazette_, and laying it before both Houses of Parliament, which would thus be necessary, the commissioners recommend that, before the decision of the Queen in Council is given, intimation should in every case be made to each of the Universities, so as to afford to any University which may consider itself interested in the change, an opportunity of expressing its opinion thereon. It is by no means impossible, they think, that a proposed change, although nominally affecting one of the Universities only, may in reality be one in which all have an interest. Thus it has been an important object of the Universities Act, to which the commissioners were specially directed to have regard, that as far as possible the conditions under which degrees should be conferred should be uniform in all the Universities of Scotland. To the attainment of that object the commissioners used their best endeavours, and they think it would be unfortunate if, now that a power of initiating alterations of the ordinances is vested in each University court, that power should be so exercised as to introduce a divergence from the uniformity which, in a great measure, the commissioners have succeeded in establishing.”

Since this date a Royal Commission on the Scotch Universities took evidence, and framed a report, which contained various recommendations.

In 1889, Parliament passed “An Act for the better Administration and Endowment of the Universities of Scotland.” This act increased the number of the members of each of the courts of the Universities, and constituted them on a more popular basis. The powers of the court were also greatly extended, as the chief governing body in each University. The court was empowered to manage the whole property and administer the revenue of the University, to appoint professors to all the chairs in the patronage of the University, also lecturers and examiners; to review decisions of the Senatus Academicus; and to deal with all representations and reports from the Senatus and General Council.

This Act like the one of 1858, appointed an Executive Commission to carry out the intention of the Legislature. The commissioners have held many meetings, framed a considerable number of new ordinances, and are still proceeding with their work. An improvement in the administration of the Universities, better organisation, and the admission of important modern subjects in the courses of study, will widen the scope and tend to raise the standard and value of University education.

In connection with research, science, philosophy, art, and culture, libraries are ♦indispensable. Edinburgh has at least five valuable libraries――The Advocates’ Library, the University Library, the Writers to the Signet Library, the Library of the Royal Society, and a large free library. The Advocates’ Library is the largest in Scotland, and is one of the five libraries which receives a gratis copy of every book published in the United Kingdom. The Signet Library is also a large and valuable one, especially in the historical and record department. The University Library contains about 155,000 volumes and 1000 manuscripts, many of which are valuable and curious.

♦ “indispensible” replaced with “indispensable”

The Library of the University of Glasgow contains upwards of 172,000 volumes, and a number of manuscripts. About ten years ago the University acquired the library of the late Sir William Hamilton, which amounted to 8,000 volumes, including many treatises on logic and metaphysics. This library is especially rich in works on mining, engineering, music, and medicine.

The Stirling’s Library in Glasgow, established in 1790, contains upwards of 40,000 volumes; it has also a lending department and a reference department. It contains many valuable works, and a large number of patents. Another reference library in the same building, called the Library of Baillie’s Institution, was established in 1887 “in a hall reconstructed and fitted up for the purpose.” Through the kindness of Mr. Mason, the late librarian, I had the pleasure of seeing and inspecting this reference library, and I saw at once, in looking round the shelves, that the works had been selected with remarkable discrimination and judgment.

The Mitchell Library in Glasgow was opened in 1877. It is a reference, consulting, and reading library, not a lending one. It contains upwards of 72,000 volumes, representing all branches of literature and science. In the historical department it is very complete and valuable, especially in British history; science and art is also well represented. Its rare collection of Scottish poetry and editions of Burns, were already mentioned.

The Library of the University of Aberdeen contains about 94,000 volumes and a considerable number of manuscripts. There are besides, six special or class libraries for the use of students. The Society of Advocates in Aberdeen have a pretty large library, containing many valuable works.

Many towns in Scotland have adopted the Free Libraries Act, among which may be mentioned Dundee, 1869; Paisley, 1871; Galashiels, 1874; Hawick, 1878; Thurso, 1875; Forfar, 1870; Inverness, 1877; ♦Dumbarton, 1881; Dunfermline, 1882; and Aberdeen, 1884. The organisation and management of those libraries have already attained a remarkable degree of completeness, and much intelligence and skill have been brought to bear in forming the reference departments. There can be no doubt that they will prove a source of enjoyment and benefit to the people, by placing within the reach of every citizen the means of becoming acquainted with the thoughts and sentiments of the great minds of the past and present.

♦ “Dunbarton” replaced with “Dumbarton”