1006 
in the organization, especially the 
want of encouragement for the mass 
ters, and the deficiency of fixed ele- 
mentary books. 
The population of the French 
empire being at this moment about 
thirty-four millions, there must be 
three millions of children under the 
age of twelve; and supposing that 
the sixth part of the parents can 
afford to pay liberally for the edu- 
cation, and that there be sixty scho- 
Jars for each country school, more 
than forty-seven thousand teachers 
of botb sexes will be required. The 
commencement ought of course to 
be to teach the teachers, by institu. 
ting a grand foundation for needy 
and deserving young men, in order 
to qualify them for this office, which 
sbould be accompanied with a sa- 
Jary for life, only to be lost by 
notorious and scandalous misconduct. 
Tf, during the rage of innovation, 
the voice of reason could have been 
heard, the funds, revenues, and 
buildings of the ancient universities, 
would have been admirably adapted 
to this purpose; and the useless 
fellowships, and other sinecures, 
might have been supplanted by a 
most useful body of men, the future 
schoolmasters, who, after a residence 
of two years might have made room 
for others. 
A moderate salary to the masters 
of the primary schools ought to be 
secured by a tax upon fand and 
houses; but itis supposed thatone 
half of the salary might be paid by 
such parents as are in tolerable cir- 
cumstances, wits the poorer class 
ought to pay’ “nothing. This land- 
tax might be called the tax of in- 
struction ; and ought to be rendered 
perpetual as far as human foresight 
can penetrate into futurity. 
But I forget Champagne, who 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1806. 
recommends public schools support« 
ed by beneficent societies. He justly 
observes, that before parochial 
schools were spread through the 
Highlands of Scotland, there were 
frequent disturbances and rebellions, 
which have ceased since the country 
became more enlightened. He pro 
poses that the tax upon bachelors 
should be a}lotted to the public in- | 
struction; and that, of fifty thou- 
sand places of clerks, employed in 
the different offices under governs 
ment, one quarter should be ree 
served for schoolmasters who have 
performed that office during ten 
years. But the chief object would 
seem to be, that, by a moderate tax 
on land and houses, each parish 
should support its own school 
master. 
This practical writer also observes, 
that there was too violent a transis 
tion between the primary and the 
central schools, where the boy who 
had only been taught to read and 
write, and the four first rules of 
arithmetic, was suddenly introduced 
to the ancient languages, This de- 
fect was chiefly owing to the boy’s 
not having been taught grammar 
and orthography. Before the -revo- 
_ lution there were three gradations, 
the little schools, the colleges, the 
universities; the instruction of the 
first being necessary to all ranks; 
that of the second for liberal pro-« 
fessions ; while the universities qua- 
lified men to become masters them. 
selves. That. the utility of) the 
secondary schools may become more 
apparent, he computes that in ‘the 
French empire there are sixty thou- 
sand officers in the land and sea 
service ; fifty thousand agents and 
clerks in the administration and 
finances ; some thousand judges and 
professors; while there ought to be 
at 
