378 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1818. 



an act of parliament, much 

 advantage may be expected ; 

 and though it would not become 

 your Committee to anticipate 

 the measures which the wisdom 

 of the legislature may adopt in 

 consequence of those inquiries, 

 with a view to provide a speedy 

 and cheaper remedy for the evil 

 than the ordinary tribunals of 

 the country afford ; yet your 

 Committee cannot avoid hoping, 

 that the mere report and publica- 

 tion of the existing abuses will 

 have a material effect in leading 

 the parties concerned, to correct 

 them, and that even the appre- 

 hension of the inquiry about to 

 be instituted may in the mean 

 time produce a similar effect. 



As the universities, public 

 schools, and charities with spe- 

 cial visitors, are exempted from 

 the jurisdiction of the commis- 

 sioners, your Committee have 

 been occupied in examining 

 several of those institutions; the 

 result of their inquiries will be 

 found in the Appendix. It 

 imquestionably shows, that con- 

 siderable unauthorized deviations 

 have been made, in both Eton 

 and Winchester, from the ori- 

 ginal plans of the founders ; that 

 those deviations have been dic- 

 tated more by a regard to the 

 interests of the fellows than of 

 the scholars, who were the main 

 object of the foundations and of 

 the founder's bounty; and that 

 although in some respects they 

 have proved beneficial upon the 

 ■whole to the institutions, yet 

 that they have been, by gradual 

 encroachments in former times, 

 carried too far. While, there- 

 fore, your Committee readily 

 acquit the present fellows of all 



blame in this respect, they 

 entertain a confident expectation 

 that they will seize the opportu- 

 nity aflbrded by the inquiry, of 

 doing themselves honour by 

 correcting the abuses that have 

 crept in, as far as the real inter- 

 ests of the establishments may 

 appear to require it. If, too, 

 there should exist similar errors 

 in the universities, which have 

 not been examined, your Com- 

 mittee willingly flatter themselves 

 that steps will be taken to cor- 

 rect them, by the wisdom and 

 integrity of the highly respect- 

 able persons, to whose hands the 

 concerns of those great bodies 

 are committed. 



Your Committee are fully 

 persuaded, that many great 

 neglects and abuses exist in 

 charities which have special 

 visitors ; indeed it so happens, 

 that the worst instance which 

 they have met with belongs to 

 this class ; and that no visitatorial 

 power was exercised, until a few 

 months ago, although the mal- 

 versations had existed for many 

 years. To this subject they 

 therefore beg leave to request 

 the speedy attention of parlia- 

 ment. 



It further appears to your 

 Committee, that as the commis- 

 sion about to be issued will be 

 confined to the investigation of 

 abuses, and as the information, 

 in the parochial returns, is not 

 sufficiently detailed respecting 

 the state of education generally, 

 a commission should also be 

 issued, either under an act of 

 parliament, or by means of an 

 address to the Crown, for the 

 purpose of supplying this defect. 



In the course of their inquiries, 



your 



