and tJie Best Means of Promoting it. 83 



Now, other countries have, b^' the best authorities, been stated as 

 follows : — 



It is thus seeu that England stands very low in the scale, and I fear 

 the reaUty is lower than even these figui-es fully show ; for I find from 

 the Minutes of the " Committee of Council on Education," the most 

 reliable educational statistics we possess, that our scholars range from 

 three to fifteen years of age, and that fully 25 per cent, are under 

 seven j^ears. Now, in Prussia, for instance, the returns appear to be 

 taken from seven to fourteen, during which term of age nearly all 

 the children are at school, whereas in England, of the children of these 

 ages, only one-half are at school. 



Of children in Great Britain, of our school age, three to fifteen, we 

 have nearly G millions,* of which only 2\ millions are at school, 600,000 

 are known to be at work, and there remain between two and thi'ee 

 millions educationally unaccounted for. 



But as three to fifteen may be considered too long a range, a large 

 part too young for being generally at school, and a large pai't at the 

 other end of the range gone to work, we will take the period from five to 

 ten, during which ages it can hardly be doubted that all ought to be at 

 school. We find there are of children at that age 2^ millions in the 

 population. Now, the Minutes of the Committee of Council show that 

 £9 per cent, of tlie scholars in the schools inspected \>y them are of that 

 age ; and as these schools may be taken as a fair basis for estimating the 

 educational state of the country, we are probably not far wrong in 

 assuming that there are of our children, from five to ten years old, one 

 and a-half millions at school, and one million entirely unaccounted for ! f 



We find in Massachusetts and in New York State, tliat there is 

 actually a larger number of children of all ages, at school, than tlie 

 population shows of the standard school age : — 



In Massachusetts, in 1851, of children five to fifteen, 196,536 

 Of all ages at school, 199,429 



In New York Slut..-, in 1850, children five to sixteen, 735,000 

 At scliool, ill! ages, 795,000 



• Census 1851— Children of three tolilteen, 5,789,.B66 ; At school of all ages, 2,402,841. 



t Censua 1851— Children five to ten, 2,448,699 



Scholars of all ages, 2,492,84 I, of which 59 per cent., . 1,470,770 



Unaccounted for ... . 977,923 



