Payment by Results in British Guiana. 135 



nominational training school, in which students of every 

 shade of religious opinion could be trained and edu- 

 cated ; yet in 1892 a desperate effort was made by 

 the Government, backed by the religious scruples and 

 ponderous influence of the Governor, as well as the 

 sophistry aud debating ability of the Government Secre- 

 tary and the wide experience and technical knowledge 

 of the Inspe6lor of Schools, to foist on the colony a 

 system identical with that of 1853, — a scheme by which 

 half-a-dozen petty denominational schools were to be 

 established, dire6lly under the influence of the churches ; 

 but, to the credit of the ele6live members of the Com- 

 bined Court the thing was unhesitatingly rejefted. 



Looking at the regulations again from another point 

 of view, they are found to be not only very defeftive, 

 but more or less positively dangerous. Perhaps it may 

 be expe6ling too much to require that physical training, 

 such as drill, should receive encouragement at the hands 

 of our legislators. It may, on the other hand, be taken 

 for granted that the moral as well as religious trainino- 

 of the children is cared for by the different religious 

 communities ; but surely a system of education which 

 is intended to benefit the children of the poor should 

 make provisions for the acquirement of what the 

 poor would need most to enable them to be indepen- 

 dent, self-reliant, law-abiding as well as useful citizens ; — 

 that it should require the children to be trained 

 in such a manner as would enable them to perform their 

 allotted part in the drama of life with benefit to them- 

 selves and credit to the colony ! This is an agricul- 

 tural country ; presumably, therefore, the majority of 

 its inhabitants should more or less be agriculturists; 



