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Richard Whately and political economy in school books, 1833-80

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2016

J.M. Goldstrom
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Extract

Throughout the nineteenth century, books, pamphlets and periodicals offered widely-ranging advice to the working class. One theme, appearing about 1820, was political economy: ‘Next to religion’, a royal commission reported, ‘the knowledge most important to a labouring man is that of the causes which regulate the amount of his wages, the hours of his work, the regularity of his employment, and the prices of what he consumes’. And Richard Whately, former Drummond Professor of political economy at Oxford, now archbishop of Dublin, urged similarly the need to teach political economy to the poor : ‘The lower orders’, he said, ‘would not … be, as now, liable to the misleading of every designing demagogue … If they were well grounded in the outlines of the science, it would go further towards rendering them provident, than any other scheme that could be devised.’

Type
Articles
Information
Irish Historical Studies , Volume 15 , Issue 58 , September 1966 , pp. 131 - 146
Copyright
Copyright © Irish Historical Studies Publications Ltd 1966

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References

1 Report of the commissioners appointed to inquire into the state of popular education in England, p. 127, [C. 2794-1], H.G. 1861, xxi.

2 Saturday Magazine, Nov. 1833, iii. 182.

3 For a full discussion see the two standard works. Altick, R. D., The English common reader, 1800–1900 (Chicago, 1957)Google Scholar, and Webb, R. K., The British working class reader, 1790–1848 (1955)Google Scholar. The place of publication of works cited is London, unless otherwise stated.

4 For books used in National schools see returns made by schools in: 16th annual report of the National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church (1827); 21st annual report (1832); 26th annual report (1837). For an account of books used in ‘British’ schools, see Minutes of the committee of council on education, p. 364, [787], H.C. 1847, xlv

5 [Sarah Trimmer] Some account of the life and writings of Mrs Trimmer, with original letters, and meditations and prayers, selected from her journal (1814), i. 54, ii. 37. In 1827 the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge published two bound volumes as part of a larger collection of religious tracts, containing material considered suitable for schools. Of these 31 tracts, Mrs Trimmer had written 13 and one other was based on her writings. The remaining tracts were of a religious nature and generally of a style that children could not hope to understand. See Religious tracts, dispersed by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (1827), vols. 9, 10.

6 Minutes of the committee of general literature and education, 5 June 1833 (vol. i). The manuscript minute books are at the offices of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, S.P.C.K. House, London; Report of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (1832, pp. 1819). For an account of the S.P.C.K. see Clarke, W K. L., A history of the S.P.C.K. (1959)Google Scholar. See also Allen, W. O. B. and McClure, E., Two hundred years: the history of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (1898).Google Scholar

7 Minutes of the committee of general literature and education, 10 July 1833 (vol. i).

8 The best account of Whately’s life is to be found in D.N.B.

9 For an account of the work of the Irish commissioners up to 1870 see Royal commission of inquiry into primary education (Ireland), pp. 21–220, [C. 6], H.C. 1870, xxviii.

10 In 1838 the committee of general literature and education agreed to publish a book on condition that all material derived from publications of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge be removed. See minutes of the committee of general literature and education, 25 Oct. 1838 (vol. ii). There was also some reluctance on the part of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge to publish works on political economy; see R. K. Webb, op. cit., pp. 85–92.

11 [On Wages]‘The best way is to leave all labourers and employers, as well as all other sellers and buyers, free to ask and to offer what they think fit; and to make their own bargain together, if they can agree, or to break it off, if they cannot.

But labourers often suffer great hardships, from which they might save themselves by looking forward beyond the present day. They are apt to complain of others, when they ought rather to blame their own imprudence. If, when a man is earning good wages, he spends all as fast as he gets it in thoughtless intemperance, instead of laying by something against hard times, he may afterwards have to suffer great want when he is out of work, or when wages are lower: but then he must not blame others for this, but his own improvidence.’

[On Rich and Poor] ‘Can it be supposed that the poor would be better off if all the property of the rich were taken away and divided among them, and no one allowed to become rich for the future? The poor would then be much worse off than they are now; they would still have to work for their living as they do now, for food and clothes cannot be had without somebody’s labour. But they would not work near so profitably as they do now, because no one would be able to keep up a large manufactory or farm well stocked, and to advance wages to workmen, as is done now, for work which does not bring in any return for, perhaps, a year or two. Every man would live, as the saying is, ‘from hand to mouth’, just tilling his own little patch of ground, enough to keep him alive, and not daring to lay by anything, because if he were supposed to be rich, he would be in danger of having his property taken away and divided.’ Quoted from a reprint in Fourth book of lessons for the use of schools, published by direction of the commissioners of national education in Ireland (Dublin, 1853), pp. 210, 213.

12 The development of economic thought, ed. Spiegel, H. W. (New York, 1952), p. 491.Google Scholar

13 Fourth book of lessons, as above, p. 70. Minutes of the committee of general literature and education, 12 Mar. 1834 (vol. i). Coinniallain, Tadhg O, Reidh-leighin air ghnothuibh cearba, trachtail, tuarasdal, reic 7 ceannach 7c. 7c. (Dublin, 1835)Google Scholar. For an American edition see Library of Congress catalog of printed cards (New York, 1959).

14 Evidence of M. Cross to Select committee of the house of lords appointed to inquire into the practical working of the system of national education in Ireland, p. 98 (525), H.C. 1854, xv, pt 1. Commissioners of national education in Ireland: Correspondence of Messrs Longman and Co. and John Murray with the Right Hon. Lord John Russell, M.P. etc. etc. etc. on the publication of school books by the government at the public expense, the statement of the commissioners of national education in Ireland in reference thereto and the reply of Lord J. Russell to Messrs Longman & Co. and J. Murray (Dublin, 1851), p. 16.

15 Royal commission of inquiry into primary education (Ireland), p. 36, [C. 6], H.C. 1870, xxviii.

16 18th report of the commissioners of national education in Ireland, p. 70, [1582], H.C. 1852, xlii.

17 Ibid., p. 70. Correspondence of Messrs Longman and Murray, n. 14 above. Tilleard, James, ‘On elementary school books’ (Transactions of the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science (1859), pp. 387–96)Google Scholar. Tilleard gives a figure of approximately 150,000 Irish books bought by schools in 1859 through the committee of council on education, the government body established in 1839 to advise and assist voluntary schools in Great Britain. I have doubled the figure to account for sales through other channels. This is a very conservative estimate. In 1851 the committee of council purchased about £2,000 worth of books, and other purchasers about £5,000 worth (18th report of the Irish commissioners, as above, p. 22). But by 1859 the committee of council share of sales had increased.

18 Dunn, H. and Grossley, J. T., Daily lesson books for the use of schools and families, nos. I-IV (1840–42).Google Scholar

19 Minutes of the committee of general literature and education, 4 Feb., 17 Mar., 30 June, 3 Nov., 1848 (vol. v).

20 First [to fourth] reading book, new series, published under the joint sanction of the committee of general literature and education appointed by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge and the committee of the National Society, (1851–6).

21 National reading books adapted to the government code, Standards 1 to 6 (1867–8).

22 Elementary books for Catholic schools (Burns, and Lambert, , 1860–62)Google Scholar; Burns’ standard reading-books adapted to the requirements of the revised code (1867).

23 See, for example, Minutes of the committee of council on education, p. 64 [2380], H.C. 1857-8, xlv.

24 From the government return quoted by James Tilleard, op. cit., in 1859 the committee of council sold about 300,000 readers, half of which were Irish, to schools. Giving the readers a three-year life we have the figure of one million readers in use supplied by the committee of council. In addition, the religious societies supplied schools and from their accounts it seems that they sold about as much as the committee of council. This gives us a rough and ready estimate of two million readers in use in 1859. The Newcastle commission gives a figure of 1,675,158 scholars on the register of public elementary schools in 1858.

25 The secretary of the society, H. Dunn, and the head teacher of the model school at Borough Road, T. H. Grossley.

26 Minutes of the committee of general literature and education, 19 Apr. 1850 (vol. v); see memorandum by F. G. Gook, 4 ‘Suggestions on reading books’.

27 47th annual report of the National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church (1858), p. 9.

28 6th annual report of the Catholic Poor School Committee (1853), p. 10.

29 37th annual report of the National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church(1848), p. 15.

30 Minutes of the committee of council on education, p. 19 [998], H.C. 1847–8, I.

31 Second book of lessons for the use of schools, published by direction of the commissioners of national education in Ireland (Dublin 1846), p. 16.

32 The revised lesson book no. m suited to the requirements of the revised code, adopted by the British and Foreign School Society (1871), p. 50.

33 Fourth book of lessons for the use of schools, published by direction of the commissioners of national education in Ireland (Dublin 1853), pp. 209–10.

34 Dunn, Henry and Crossley, John, Daily lesson book, for the use of schools and families, no. in, (1840), p. 103.Google Scholar

35 The evidence of Morrell, J. D., Report of the commissioners appointed to inquire into the state of popular education in England, p. 215 [G. 2794–6], H.C. 1861, 21.Google Scholar

36 There were exceptions. William Ellis (1800–81) devoted a lifetime to the cause of teaching political economy to children. See Blyth, E. K., Life of William Ellis (1889)Google Scholar. One of his disciples, W. M. Williams, a schoolmaster, has described how he taught the subject to the children of artisans, considering that the subject could be taught successfully to children between the ages of ten and fourteen; see Williams, W. M., ‘On the teaching of social economy’, in Transactions of the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science, (1857), pp. 509–17.Google Scholar

37 Report of the committee of council on education, pp. 9–13, [C. 406], H.C. 1871, xxii.

38 Minutes of the committee of council on education, p. 344, [787]? H.C. 1847, xlv.

39 Minutes of the committee of council on education, p. 394, [1926], H.C. 1854–5, xlii.

40 Minutes of the committee of council on education, pp. 492–3, [787], H.C. 1847, xlv.

41 Minutes of the committee of council on education, p. 397, [1623], H.C. 1852–3, lxxix.

42 In 1858, for example, 329 students from Church of England training colleges gave gallery lessons in the presence of inspectors. In spite of the fondness of the inspectorate for political economy only two students chose the subject. Report of the committee of council on education, p. 298, [2510 sess. 1], H.C. 1859, xxi.

43 Report of the committee of council on education, p. 203, [3171], H.C. 1863, xlvii. Report of the committee of council on education, P. 347, [C 4849], H.C. 1886, xxiv.

44 Quoted in Report of the committee of council on education, p. 172, [3666], H.C. 1866, xxvii.

45 Political economy was put on the syllabus under the provisions of the Revised Code of 1871, Article 21, as a specific subject attracting a grant. Report of the committee of council on education, p. 93, [C. 601], H.C. 1872, xxii. But in the year 1872–3 not one of the 111,275 children who were examined chose political economy. Report of the committee of council on education, p. 20, [C. 812–1.], H.C. 1873, xxiv Article 19, C. 1, of the New Code of 1880, attempted to reintroduce political economy as a class subject. Report of the committee of council on education, p. 112, [C. 2948], H.C. 1881, xxxii. The National Society brought out a special book, Palgrave, R. H. I., Political economy reading book (1880)Google Scholar, but school inspectors in their reports make no mention of political economy being taught in schools. A number of other books on political economy were on the market but they were intended for teachers in training.