by the Committee of Council as endowments falling under the operation of this Clause. In order fully to appreciate the injury which such a provision is likely to inflict on the Bequest, it is necessary to contrast the regulations in regard to participation by the Trustees on the one hand, and by the Committee of Council on Education on the other. 1. As already seen, the Trustees require as a preliminary to participation that teachers should pass a stringent examination on all the subjects of a high class literary and classical education, and in particular in Latin, Greek, the higher branches of Mathematics, and Physics; while, under the examination for a Government certificate, Latin, Greek, and Physics are not required at all, and the knowledge of Mathematics necessary is of the most elementary character. 2. A teacher's allowance is liable to be restricted or wholly cut off at the discretion of the Trustees, in case, through inattention on his part or otherwise, his school shall fall off to any serious extent in respect of efficiency; while in the case of the Government grant total deprivation is a thing almost unheard of, and the power of restriction given to the Inspectors is limited to one-half, but in practice is never exercised, excepting to the extent of one-tenth only. It will thus be seen that, unless the allowances from the Dick Bequest far exceeded in amount those awarded out of the Government grant, it would not be worth any man's while to offer himself for the Trustees' examination, or to incur the risks of deprivation or of restriction of allowance, to which necessarily every one is liable who receives the benefits of the Bequest, when he can secure his share of the Privy Council grant free from the risk of any serious fluctuation, and without the trouble of preparing for what is truly a very severe examination. So far, however, is it from being the case that the allowances from the Bequest are likely to exceed those from the Government grant, that, on the contrary, it appears they will be much smaller in the case of large schools, and about equal in the case of smaller schools in rural and remote parishes. Thus, in the case of the school of where the enrolled scholars amount to 272, it is calculated that the amount of the grant from Government would exceed £90 yearly, while the allowance from the Bequest is no more than £40; and in the case of which is a remote school consisting of only 65 enrolled scholars, the Government grant would be probably about £30, while the allowance from the Bequest would amount to about the same sum. in If, then, in the case first supposed, the schoolmaster of claiming his share of the Government grant, is obliged to deduct from it the amount which he receives from the Bequest, it is clear that he has no interest whatever in the question whether that allowance shall be greater or smaller, seeing that, if greater, he has still to deduct it from his Government allowance, and if smaller, as a consequence of the standard of excellence being higher with the Trustees than under the "Revised Code," he may hope to receive from Government full compensation for any amount which may struck off from his allowance under the Bequest. be In the case second supposed, namely that of, it is equally clear that the schoolmaster has little interest in the question whether he shall claim from the Bequest or from Government in the first instance, though he too would, in the event of the Trustees putting him on restricted allowance, probably be compensated for the shortcoming by the Government grant. Indeed the result seems to be, that for the future, in all cases of large schools in populous districts, where the Government grant, under the system prescribed by the Code, would be at the largest rate, the teachers will never dream of connecting themselves with the Bequest at all, and the literary character of the schoolmasters and schools will suffer in consequence. The Trustees, however, though they have the power of withholding any share of the fund from those schoolmasters who do not comply with their regulations, are under the necessity of apportioning the whole annual income among those connected with the Bequest, who, by obedience to the rules, and by their efficiency as teachers, have qualified themselves to receive it. It may, therefore, be confidently anticipated that, while the teachers of large schools will, under the operation of the Clause 52 D. of the Code, cease to share in the Bequest, and the free income for division among the remainder be thus largely increased, the teachers of smaller schools will throw off the Government grant altogether, in order that they may continue to draw their allowances from the Bequest, for the obvious reason, that under the supposed alteration of circumstances these allowances would, in all probability, come up to the emoluments derived from the grant by the larger school teachers, and, at all events, would very largely exceed any to which their own small number of scholars could ever entitle them under the Code. Mr. Dick's view, in dedicating his fortune to educational purposes, was to raise the character of the schoolmasters, and the standard of education generally, throughout the three counties, so as to make them an example to other parts of the country. This purpose will, however, as appears from the foregoing statement, be in a great measure frustrated if the allowances from the Bequest are to be viewed as endowments under the "Revised Code." Moreover, though, if the schoolmasters were to draw both the Government grant and the allowance from the Bequest, they would no doubt be better provided for than others of their class in Scotland, still it must not be forgotten that the fund from which the excess is derived is the result of private benevolence, and the allowances from it wholly within the power of the Trustees, and granted as the direct reward of tried merit. Farther, it will surely be a sad perversion of the funds voted by Parliament for educational purposes if, as will be the case in the three counties, they shall ever become the means of lowering, instead of elevating, the literary character of the teachers, and the standard of education within the schools. It only remains to be remarked that, apart from all other considerations, the Dick Bequest allowances are not "Endowments," in the proper sense of that term. An endowment is properly a sum mortified to a particular school for the benefit of its teachers, and to the proceeds of which an individual becomes entitled by the mere possession of office. Such, however, can never be said to be the character of a fund which is not provided for the schoolmasters as individuals, but is given for their behoof as a body, with power to Trustees arbitrarily to divide it among such of them only, and subject to such conditions as they shall from time to time see fit. The Trustees earnestly hope that, on the above grounds, Parliament, in its wisdom, may see cause so to modify the conditions of the " Revised Code" as to except from its operation the Dick Bequest under their management. (Signed) LONDON, 23d February 1864. JAMES HOPE, Deputy-Keeper of the Signet, Chairman of the Trustees. |