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THE FREE LIBRARY PRIZE AWARD.…

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THE FREE LIBRARY PRIZE AWARD. Cardiff may boast the distinction of being the only town in Wales that has adopted the provisions of the Act of Parliament enabling the local authorities to create and support a Free Library. The grant made for the purpose by the Corporation of this town, we believe, is only one-half of the maximum amount per- mitted by the Act to be raised by rate for the purpose, yet under the management of a committee of prominent citizens, wisely selected by the Town Council, the suc- cess of the experiment has been most gratifying and complete. The Mayor is ex officio the Chairman of the Committee, but the active management of the Library has mainly devolved upon the Vice-chairman, Mr. Charles Thompson, and the Secretary, Mr. Peter Price, who have been most assiduous in their labours, and have spared no efforts to extend the usefulness of the institution. Last winter, under the powers of the Act, an arrange- ment was entered into by the Committee of the Li- brary for the establishment of Schools of Art and 'Science. The Committee of Privy Council on Education possess a science and art department, having its bead quarters at Kensington, who are empowered to make grants to classes throughout the country, to promote the study of science and art. The Free Library Committee accordingly procured the services of two cettificated teachers, Mr. Bush and Mr. Robotham, under the former of whom classes were formed for the study of machine drawing and elementary mathematics, and under the latter of inorganic chemistry, mining, and geology. These classes were all we 1 attended, though the move- ment, of course, could not be expected during its in- fancy to attain the full dimensions which it wil doubtless attain in future winters. The proficiency of the classes -was marked, and their attention and the interest excited vere most satisfactory; especially was the machine drawing class a decided success. In May last the officers of the Committee of Council undertook an examination of the pupils. Examination papers weie forwarded to the Free Library Committee, and by them placed before the pupils, care being taken to provide that the an- swers were written by each without concert or aid from others. These papers were then immediately sealed and transmitted to Kensington. In due time the Committee Z, of Council forwarded their report. In the first grade they awarded no prize. In the second grade, a prize to Ge rge Thomas, in the machine drawing class; in the third grade, to the following pupils, all in the ma- chine d'awing class:—Elijah Barwell. William Coe, Richard W. Deacon. David J. Morgan, Edwin J. Stead, Philip H. Thomas .William Thomas, and Thomas David; in the third grade also, to Enoch Daniel and Richard Mumford. in the inorganic chemistry class. They also awarded honourable mention as tinder:— John Coibett 4th grade in machine drawing class Alexander Duncan 4th „ „ Charles Venning. 4th „ „ John Bowen 4th elementary mathematics Henry Gooch 4th geology William Macauliffe. 5th machine drawing class Herbert P. South 5th „ „ William Trewartha 5th „ „ David Aubrey 5th „ inorganic chemistry 1 he Committee of Council graduate their grants m aid of the payment of the teachers, by the results at- taiDed. Had there been first grade prizes awarded, the teacher of the class would have received £ 5 for each pupil who merited such prize. For the second grade prize awarded as above, the teacher receives £4 from the Government grant; for the 3rd grade, the teacher re- ceives Jt,3 per prize pupil; for the 4th grade, honour- able mention, X2 per pupil; and for the 5th grade, £1 per pupil. Thus it is made the teacher's pecuniary interest to promote to the utmost of his ability the pro- gress of his pupils. With respect to the prizes them. selves, the successful pupils do not fare quite as well as the teachers. A list of articles for them to select from was forwarded. Five of them selected a box of ma- tbematical instruments, two Hoffman's work on Che- mistry, and the four others chose a volume entitled Eng- land's workshops. On Thursday (yesterday) evening, the public delivery ot the prizes to the above-mentioned pupils took place at the Town Hall. The Assemb.y Room was crowded, notwithstanding the rainy weather and muddy streets, by an audience comprising the elite of Cardiff society, scarcely a family of prominence being unrepresented. Mr. Bruce, always fluent, was in his happiest mood, and in his address held his audience in close and deeply at- tentive interest throughout. We only regret that the holding of the meeting on the immediate eve of our publication rendered it impossible for us to give more than a brief resume of a speech, which deserved verba- tim record. The Mayor briefly stated the object of the meeting and introduced the Right Hen. H. A: Bruce, M. P., late Vice-President of the Committee of Counell on Educa- tion, who was received with load cheers. Mr. Bruce was accompanied to the platform by 'his brother-in-law, R. 0. Jones, Esq., of Foumon CAstle, the Chairman of Quarter Sessions, and by his brother, the Rev. Canon Bruce, of St. Nicholas. The Mayor, and Mr. Charles Thompson, Chairman and Vice-Cbair- man of the Free Library Committee, and Mr. Price, the secretary, also occupied seats on the platform. Mr. PRICE read the names of the pupils to whom prizes had been awarded, and Mr. BRUCE proceeded to award them, without remark, to the pupils as they re- spectively went up to the platform. Mr. BRUCE then proceeded to say, that the ceremony that had just been witnessed was not a very imposing one, but it was, nevertheless, very interesting. When he found that the town of Cardiff had adopted the Free Library Act, be expected that before long the establish- ment of science classes would foilow. A frequent im. pression in regard to free libraries, before they were ac- tually tested, was that they would be resorted to by the young merely for amusement: but experience proved that ere long the readers would throw aside the mere cakes and gingerbread" of literature, and betake them- selves to more solid food. The establishment of these science schools showed that such was the result here. Reports from all parts of the country, some'years ago, bad showed that while England was the greatest manu- facturing and mechanical country in the world, yet there was no civilised country in which so few facilities were given, in the wcy of popular schools, for teaching the practical sciences. We all knew how much the wealth of this country depended on mining it might have been supposed that there would be a great number of miuing schools, and those of the highest class. Yet the fact was that to obtain the highest description of education in that department of science, the student had to go abroad. Mr. Hussey Vivian, one of the members of Parliament for the county, was probably one of the most thoroughly educated men in this country in respect to mining but his father bad had to send him abroad to a German college to acquire that training. He wished he could b.ast that to the political paity to whom 'ke belonged was due the credit of instituting these popular science schools; but he could not. It was under the former government of the Earl of Derby, when the Marquis of Salisbury was President of the Council, and Mr. Adderley theiVIce-President, that the ,scheme was instituted. Nor were these the only mem- bers of the Conservative party who had taken a deep in- terest in the matter. He was glad to say that Education never had been, and he trusted it never would be, made • a party question. Sir John Pakington, Mr. Adderley, Sir Stafford Northcote, and other members and sup- porters of the present government, were as earnest as any members of the Liberal party in promoting popular education. In referriug to the results of the establishment I of these science schools it might be mentioned, that there were now 158 such schools, of which 121 were in England and Wales,8 in Scotland, and 26 in Ireland. In these schools were 484 classes in the different branches of science, comprising 6,835 students. Last year there was an increase of 38 schools, Cardiff being one, and of 1,356 students; and the number of papers sent up for examination last year was nearly double that ofithe year before, showing the rapid progress of the ■■ movement. In all the schools only four Queen's medals were given in each class of science; so that it was not to be wondered at that a newly formed school like this in Cardiff bad not received a medal; but he considered that the number of prizes and certificates awarded this evening WAS most creditable, considering the limited time that the school had been in existence. It should be known that any private students could attend and ob- tain honourable mention by competing in the examina- tion, though they were not eligible for prizes without attending the classes as pupils. This country was outstripped by others in the progress of national education. France had a far better and more general system of popular education than this country. So had JPrnssia, the difference being that the latter country .made education compulsory, by preventing any man from going into trade until he had been at school, and requir- ing all the young to be at school from the age of five to that of fourteen. In the United States there existed the most perfect system of national education ever devised. '• Every locality provided, at the publie cost, gratuitous education for all; and the length of time which the ■young could remain in school was limited only by the age at which their services would be required to earn their support. The effect of this system was to diffuse good and equal education among all classes of the po- potation, to an extent that existed nowhere else. We knew that the strength of a country depended on the 1 intelligence and public virtue of the population. What an enormous advantage, then, would a nation derive I from having its citizens thus universally well trained. In Cardiff or in any town, how many of our working men were there who bad received the training which they ought to have had-how few had had justice done to them ? He urged that voluntary effort alone could never supply an adequate system of national education. We needed Government aid to give us qualified teachers, under proper inspection, and to supply means for sus- taining schools where voluntary effort had been insuffi- cient for the purpose. This country was particularly deficient in educational provision as regarded women. Not to speak of the poorer class of women, numbers of those in the middle classes had to acquire only the mere frippery of accomplishments, instead of the solid knowledge which every woman should have, in order to fit her for the proper care of children. Every great man attributed the qualities which gave him success to the influence of his mother. How important, then, that the future mothers of England should receive such an edu- cation as would give them a proper estimate of the value of knowledge, and the means as well as the will of pointing their children in the way they should go. To show how well adapted the female mind was for acquiring knowledge, when facilities for it were pro- vided, he mentioned that a friend of his, who bad been in America, told him that the three best scholars be met-most skilled in Greek and Latin-were ladies. Why should a vast mass of female intellect lie dormant in this country ? He hoped that female classes would be formed in connection with these schools, and that when next he attended on such an occasion as this, youths of one sex as well as of the other would be called forward as recipients of prizes. On a similar occasion recently in Lancashire, he had awarded prizes to no iesfl than thirty young women. The citizens of Cardiff had acted not only kindly, but wisely and pru- dently, in establishing the Library and these schools, and thus affording the means of a sound education to the young. Every succeeding year, no doubt, they would find an increasing number of the youth of Cardiff apply- ing themselves to these studies, and he hoped before long the number of students would rise from fifty to five hundred. He could not wish for Cardiff more, than that the growth of its people in intellect and education, and in all the advantages that sprang therefrom, should be as great as its growth in material prosperity. If it was, it would leave nothing to desire and he was quite sure that, as Christian men, none of them would Jest satisfied as long a* this progress remained unattained. Much, he admitted, had been done of late years, and much was being dome now but there remained an im- mense deal still to do, which clJuld only be done by the hearty concurrence of all classes, the exertions of the richer and more intelligent being met on the pat t of the working classes in a generous and sympathetic spirit. There were in Cardiff citizens who had shown that they had the good of their fellow-citizens at heart; they had induced the borough authorities to found the Flee Library, and to provide funds for its support, and they bad applied themselves to found these science schools; and he was sure they would not be satisfied until they had tried by every means in their power to bring to the youth of the town all the means of a sound scientific education. There was an antiquated notion that it was Dot safe to teach the working classes—that if the lewer classes were educated, they would become dis- contented and unwilling to perform the duties of life which were most disagreeable and esteemed the lowest, though equally necessary with those of a higher descrip- tion. He did not concur in this idea, and he trusted • there were few persons of culture from whose minds it had not disappeared. It might be that the partial, oc- casional education of working men produced discontent; but when education beeame universal, things would, in respect to the relative differences of position among individuals and clesses of society, remain as they were now for then those who had naturally less powers of mine), or had paid less attention to the means of improvement supplied to them, would take the lower place relatively on that account. In conclu- sion the right hon, gentleman said, it had given him the greatest pleasure to be the means of presenting, on this first occasion, these testimonials of merit and proofs of industrious exertion to the youth of Cardiff. If he was not present in future years, be should nevertheless hope to bear that the number of recipients had been in- creased, and the grade of prizes raised and that be- fore long Cardiff would figure among those places which carried off the Queen's medal—the highest distinction that could be conveyed by that education department of the Privy Council, with whilolb he was so long con- nected, and in the success of which he would ever take the very deepest interest. The right hon. gentleman then sat down amid loud cheers. The MAYOR (W. B. Watkins, Esq.), rose to express on the part of the Library Committee and local authorities, and the audience generally, their sense of the high honour done to them by Mr. Bruce in presiding on this occasion, and to pro- pose a vote of cordial and hearty thanks for his services. It was gratifying not only to hear such an interesting address delivered, but to know that in Cardiff we had a press second in ability in point of reporting to none in the country, not eAen to London, and that those citizens who had not at- tended the meeting, as well as those present, would be made acquainted with sentiments so eloquently advanced. After a few remarks on the benefits of education, especially to the mechanic and working-man, the Mayor went on to say that when, as would be the case, the children of to-day acquired a far better education, and had more advantages, than their fathers, they would, on growing up, look back with gratitude to the efforts of Mr. Bruce, and others like him, in the cause of education. They would feel the more grateful, because the labours which such statesmen devoted to matters of this description encroached on a leisure rarely gained from the pressure of engrossing public duties. If anything could add to the gratification with which Cardiff people welcomed Mr. Bruce in aiding such a cause, it was the fact that he was himself peculiarly identified with this town and county. He was the representative of one of the oldest county families his nearest rtlatives lived among us, and enjoyed the warm affection of all; and for their sake, as well as his own, the people of Cardiff felt locally honoured by the distinguished position Mr. Bruce had attained in the State. (Loud cheers.) Mr. CHARLES THOMPSON seconded the vote of thanks, which was carried by acclamation. Mr. BRUCE, after acknowledging the compliment, said he was glad that Cardiff, with which he had been so long con- nected, had taken the lead 01 all the towns in Wales in the patriotic and useful course of founding a Free Library and establishing science schools. If on any subsequent occasion of this kind his presence could be supposed, to add any in- terest to the meeting, they might always command it. There could be no greater pleasure and satisfaction to him than to take part in an effort for the benefit of the working classes. The more he lived among them and the more closely he was brought into association with them, the more interest did he feel in their future, and the more did he lament that for want of proper opportunities of improvement they had not had the means of doing justice to themselves and their abili- ties. The Town Council of Cardiff, he repeated, had done a wise thing in promoting by all the means in their power the intellectual improvement of the people, and he hoped the time was not far distant when they would look upon this merely as the first step—that they wquld be entrusted by Parliament with the.means of completing the work; that wherever voluntary effort had failed throughout the borough, a public fund should be created, not merely for the establish- ment of a free library and a school of science and arts for the instruction of a select few, but schools that should bring the blessings of education even to the meanest and poorest among the people. (Enthusiastic applause).

NEATH.

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