244 FRANCIS ORPEN MORRIS 



one of the neighbouring cottages and light it for 

 him an order which the youngster was all too 

 ready to obey, and thus get a few whiffs of the 

 weed for his trouble. 



It was a matter of sincere regret to Mr. Morris 

 that this grouped-school system was so soon brought 

 to an end. In writing to the Guardian in 1875 he 

 said of it : " The grouped-school system has worked 

 well, and Quieta non movere ought, I think, to have 

 been the motto with regard to it, ... capable as 

 the plan was of indefinite extension, and improving 

 year by year." But the red-tape of the Govern- 

 ment offices can reach a long way, in this case 

 stretching to a remote country village at the edge 

 of the Yorkshire Wolds, thus putting an end to a 

 plan which was helping forward the education of 

 the district, in which it had been tried. The result 

 was that the standard of efficiency declined. 



If in no other way, the deep interest he took in 

 elementary education was shown in the large num- 

 ber of letters he wrote with regard to the question 

 through a long course of years. Several pages of 

 his large folio volumes of press cuttings are covered 

 with his communications dealing with various phases 

 and details of the subject, "School Boards," "Re- 

 ligious Teaching," " Payment by Results," " School 

 Attendance," "Codification of the Code," and "Help 

 to Voluntary Schools" being among the headings 

 of the letters. To give even an outline of his 

 views upon these and other topics bearing on the 

 general subject of education would carry me beyond 



