IL] THE SCHOOL BOARDS. 53 



which so much is now said, but the organization for 

 carrying it into effect already exists. The Science and 

 Art Department, the operations of which have already 

 attained considerable magnitude, not only offers to 

 examine and pay the results of such examination in 

 elementary science and art, but it provides what is still 

 more important, viz. a means of giving children of high 

 natural ability, who are jirst as abundant among the 

 poor as among the rich, a helping hand. A good old 

 proverb tells us that " One should not take a razor to 

 cut a block : " the razor is soon spoiled, and the block is 

 not so well cut as it would be with a hatchet. But it is 

 worse economy to prevent a possible Watt from being 

 anything but a stoker, or to give a possible Faraday no 

 chance of doing anything but to bind books. Indeed, 

 the loss in such cases of mistaken vocation has no 

 measure ; it is absolutely infinite and irreparable. And 

 among the arguments in favour of the interference of 

 the State in education, none seems to be stronger than 

 this that it is the interest of every one that ability 

 should be neither wasted, nor misapplied, by any one ; 

 and, therefore, that every one's representative, the State, 

 is necessarily fulfilling the wishes of its constituents 

 when it is helping the capacities to reach their proper 

 places. 



It may be said that the scheme of education here 

 sketched is too large to be effected in the time during 

 which the children will remain at school ; and, secondly, 

 that even if this objection did not exist, it would cost 

 too much. 



I attach no importance whatever to the first objection 

 until the experiment has been fairly tried. Considering 

 how much catechism, lists of the kings of Israel, 

 geography of Palestine, and the like, children are made 

 to swallow now, I cannot believe there will be any 



