GENERAL HISTORY. 



[149 



In the House of Commons, on 

 June 3rd, Mr. Brougham ac- 

 quainted the House that he meant 

 to forego that opposition to the 

 bill for the education of the poor, 

 which he had resolved upon, pro- 

 vided it remained in the state 

 under which it had been left by 

 the first alterations passed by 

 that House. It had since been 

 much improved ; it was, however, 

 essential that he should explain 

 the nature of the changes which 

 it had undergone. The first was, 

 the hmitation of the commis- 

 sioners to one description of cha- 

 rities, namely, those connected 

 with education. On what ground 

 this limitation was founded, he 

 was entirely at a loss to deter- 

 mine ; but those superior per- 

 sons, who sat in the upper regions 

 of legislation, it seems, thought 

 differently, and struck out that 

 part of the bill. In like manner 

 a practical change had taken 

 place in the powers of the com- 

 missioners, who had been ori- 

 ginally directed by the bill to an 

 investigation of the state of the 

 education of the poor generally. 

 They were, however, precluded 

 from doing so by many circum- 

 stances over which they could 

 not have control. Another change 

 which he exceedingly regretted 

 was, that the powers originally 

 conferred on the commissioners, 

 were not only altered and abridg- 

 ed, but altogether abrogated. 

 They were directed to traverse 

 the country, and call witnesses to 

 attend them, but to possess no 

 power of enforcing their attend- 

 ance, or of demanding the pro- 

 duction of any one document. 

 He put it to his hon. and learned 

 friend, the attoreey-general, whe- 



ther any thing could be more 

 clumsy, unsatisfactory, and ineffi- 

 cient, than to leave to those com- 

 missioners no other power to se- 

 cure their object, than that of 

 indictment against the demurrers 

 for opposition to an act of parlia- 

 ment. 



To what, then, had the House 

 to look as a security for having 

 their object carried into opera- 

 tion ? Though as the bill now 

 stood, every thing was left to the 

 good will of those who had an 

 interest at variance with the 

 spirit of the inquiry, he never- 

 theless had the fullest confidence 

 that the powers possessed by the 

 House would be exercised, and 

 would be productive of the most 

 satisfactory result. These means 

 were, that the commissioners 

 should proceed and call wit- 

 nesses ; that they should report 

 occasionally to that House, and 

 make returns of the names of all 

 persons refusing to give the in- 

 formation required, or to produce 

 the documents demanded, with- 

 out alleging any just cause for 

 such refusal. And as that House 

 would, on its next meeting, re- 

 appoint its committee, it would 

 be enabled to supply the defi- 

 ciency which the alteration in the 

 present bill occasioned, by em- 

 powering that committee to call 

 those persons before them. 



The hon. and learned gentle- 

 man concluded his speech with 

 moving " That an humble address 

 be presented to his royal highness 

 the Prince Regent, praying that 

 his Royal Highness would be 

 graciously pleased to issue a com- 

 mission to inquire into the state 

 of Education of the Poor through- 

 out England, and Wales ; and to 



report 



