the theory or practice of education. They procure, moreover, in proportion to the amount of their funds, a county library, apparatus, collection in natural history, mineralogy, models, &c.; appoint a supervisor, or civil engineer, to aid in surveys for town or county maps, &c.; agents for statistical inquiries, &c.; and, finally, carry into execution any other arrangements for the general or special objects of the Lyceum System throughout their jurisdiction."

66

It must be confessed that all this looks very well on paper,-above all, it must be admitted that if there be any magic in the word " Lyceum," it is put to the proof often enough. Puzzled as the originators of the plan were to find a title at first, it is evident that they had no sooner hit upon one than it "took" amazingly; to such an extent, indeed, that it would sometimes seem to be considered that the efficacy of the scheme lay in its name alone, so pertinaciously is" the Lyceum System" dragged in at every opportunity. Except in its title, a Town Lyceum" apparently differs but little from Literary Institutions of older date; and as to the " Lyceums" of a higher grade, the County, State, and National Lyceums,—why, sooth to say, the higher they get, the less is their utility perceptible. If the Town Lyceums were gone, there would be an end of the whole system;-the loss of the County Lyceums would derange it in some degree-but the disappearance of the "State" and "National" institutions would have but little effect, further than in abridging the importance of the delegates" who attend them, chiefly for no other purpose than to hear lengthy orations on new systems of education, or joining in wordy discussions of unprofitable questions. Such, at least, is the impression left on our minds by the little Mr. Wyse has to say on the subject, setting aside mere panegyric, of which he is never tired. The State Lyceums are so completely purposeless, that they have evidently been established for the sake of "symmetry" alone; while the most we are told of the grand National Lyceum itself, is contained in the paragraph which records the titles of three prize essays, produced under its auspices, on different abstruse points of pedagogical science!

Whatever have been the effects produced by the system, therefore, we are inclined to attribute a very minute por

tion to the vast organization which Mr. Wyse holds to be the all in all, and is so earnest in recommending for immediate adoption in Great Britain, taking the already-existing mechanics' institutions as a nucleus. Why mechanics' institutions should be selected it would be difficult to guess, since in America the Town Lyceums evidently most resemble the far more numerous body of our general literary and scientific institutions, to which, indeed, the mechanics' institutions are daily more and more assimilating in every thing but name. Add a museum to be collected by the members, and an additional class or two to these already existing, and you have a "Town Lyceum" complete and perfect at once, without any further trouble. We are not sanguine enough to anticipate that the consequences of such an improvement would be so miraculous as Mr. Wyse gravely assures us those of the " Lyceum System" have

been on the other side of the Atlantic. These are indeed almost quite incredible; ex. gr.

"Thousands of children, of not more than eight or ten years old, know now more of geology, mineralogy, botany, statistical facts, &c., &c.,-in fine, of what immediately concerns their daily interests and occupations, -than was probably known thirty years ago by any five individuals in the United States."-p. 216.

If this soberly-stated fact be not conclusive as to the merits of the Lyceum System, what will be? Of its perfect accuracy there need, of course, be no more doubt than that the knowledge of geology, botany, statistical facts, &c., is "what immediately concerns the daily interests and occupations" of the children in the States!-As, however, we could not expect such prodigious results in the old country, even were the Lyceum System adopted as fully as Mr. Wyse could wish, it may happen that the Americans will be left to the exclusive enjoyment of its exquisite organization for some time longer, maugre the efforts of the Central Society of Education. We must jog on as we best may, without the "immense advantages of Union," and even perhaps without the "Minister of Public Instruction," recommended by Mr. Wyse and his liberal compeers as the best succedaneum.

The former volume published by the Society included an interesting paper

on the physical condition of the working classes in London, drawn from statistical facts, some of them of a very minute description, collected at the expense of the Society. This article is resumed in the present volume; and from its commencement, which refers to one of the Irish "rookeries" by which the metropolis is infested, we shall quote a passage, both on account of its intrinsic interest, and as a specimen of the manner in which the curious inquiry is conducted, and the economy of a human warren laid bare.

"The first district examined was a place called Callmel Buildings, situated within a few yards of one of the most fashionable squares in the metropolis. These buildings, comprising twenty-six houses, are almost wholly inhabited by Irish catholics. The houses contain 264 rooms; 210 of which were occupied, and fifty-four vacant, at the time of the inquiry. The smallest number of individuals then inhabiting any one of the houses, was twenty-two, and the largest number was forty-eight; the average number to each house being thirty-five persons. There were in these twenty-six houses seventy-seven families and sixty-four single persons, who severally occupied only a share in a single room; 120 families and fourteen single persons occupied severally one room, or among them 134 rooms; eleven families and one single person occupied severally two rooms, and one family occupied three rooms. The rooms which were shared in common by different families were fifty-one in number. In twenty-seven of these one family was joined by single persons, varying in number from one to six. In each of eleven rooms there were two families; in nine rooms two families, and from one to four single persons in addition. In each of two rooms there were three families. In one room were four families and one single person; and one other room was inhabited by five single persons.

In

"Of the 288 families inhabiting these twenty-six houses, forty-five live in apartments which may be called airy; while the remaining 243, or five-sixths of the whole, occupy close and ill-ventilated rooms, some of which, according to the report of the visitors, are unfit for human habitation. some respects, the houses are more comfortable than those described in the former volume, the drainage being good, and the supply of water abundant; while the proportion of families whose dwellings are provided with shelves and cupboards is greater (124 out of the 288).

"As regards the intellectual condition of the parents, it was found that 203 could

read, and some among that number could write; but that 244, or 55 per cent. of the whole, could neither read nor write. Of the children, 450 in number, 262, including 117 under five years of age, could neither read nor write. Only 114 of the whole number, or about one-fourth, went to school at the time the inquiry was made. *** The sum paid for schooling appears unusually large, considering the condition of the parents; the average weekly payment for each scholar, where regular payments are made, being 54d. There is a school in the court, attended by about fifty scholars, held in a room twelve feet square, and eight and a half high, which is the sole dwelling of the schoolmaster, his wife, and six children. The unwholesome condition of the air, under these circumstances, may be easily conceived. The mode of payment to the teacher of this school is remarkable and characteristic. A kind of club, which does not consist exclusively of the parents of the scholars, meets every Saturday evening at a public-house; when, after some hours spent in drinking and smoking, a subscription is raised, and handed over to the schoolmaster, who forms one of the company, and who is expected to spend a part of the money in regaling the subscribers."- page 253.

In the remaining part of the article, a similar examination is entered into of the condition of several country parishes, the result of which, is, of course, strikingly different. Here, however, we meet with an instance of that inaccuracy which is so common in statistical papers, and detracts so considerably from their value. The writer professes to give a view of the condition of three neighbouring parishes in the county of Essex; which, as he observes, present very great points of contrast. And well they may. One of these parishes only (St. Osyth) in point of fact, belongs to that county, the other two, Porlock and Dunster, represented as composing part of the same union, being really situated in Somerset, at a distance of between two and three hundred miles! Where such a blunder as this could creep in, what dependence can be placed on the minuter details, which cannot in their nature be so readily detected? This author, too, in his zeal to display the benefits of education, resorts to prison and workhouse returns, in order to show how few persons superiorly educated" have been reduced to either, in comparison to those who have not had the same advantage. The fallacy of this presumed test need

not be pointed out, at any rate, when it is unaccompanied by similar tables of the relative numbers of the same classes outside as well as in. While the numbers of the superiorly educated" are comparatively so small, they may well be expected to add but little to our pauper and prisoner population, even were their circumstances similar to those of the classes by which our gaols and poorhouses are chiefly peopled. What would the author of this paper himself think of an enthusiastic dancingmaster, who should insist that dancing was a sure preventative against crime; and gravely maintain his position by statistical tables, showing the small proportion of offenders who could make a graceful figure in a quadrille or cotillion, compared to the masses who could not dance at all, or only inanage to shuffle through a jig?

Among the remaining papers in the volume, we are sorry to say, is one calling for the severest animadversion. This is a letter from M. de Fellenberg, the celebrated founder of the academy at Hofwyl, detailing his ideas on education, and written entirely in the French language; in which language the Society have sent it forth to the English public, in a professedly English work, without a word of apology, and without the slightest whisper of a translation! We hope, as this is the first, it will also be the last time such an occurrence will need to be complained of, as the Society cannot fail to perceive how ridiculous is such a procedure, the moment their attention is fairly called to it.

In the concluding paper, the absurdities of many of the education-mongers of the day are very happily exposed, in a manner, different indeed from that of more than one of the preceding articles, in which some of these very absurdities receive a full measure of applause, in the usual wholesale style. The infant schools, above all, come in for a full share of punishment, which is administered fairly enough, merely by means of illustrative quotations from the books in

French & English Railways,-The defeat of the French Ministers on the Railway question, by unsettling all affairs of that nature for the next twelvemonth, has made it quite certain that the English part of the railway line from London to Paris will be ready long before the French. While our Southampton line is already opened to the extent of 23 miles from the metropolis, not a yard of that from Paris to Rouen and Havre is yet laid down; and the South Western Railway to Dover is in a forward state, while the line on the opposite side as yet exists solely in the brains of its projectors, and seems likely to do so for some time yet to come.

Improvement in Gunnery.-We understand that Mr. Symington has invented a method of loading artillery, which diminishes the risk of accident, needs only one man instead of two to serve the gun with wadding, increases materially the projectile force of the ball, causes the common gun to act in the same manner as a rifle piece, and is applicable to guns on the present construction. Its introduction would produce an important change in the mode of naval warfare, inasmuch as that vessels during an engagement would, instead of coming to close quarters, or being carried by boarding, be enabled, by firing "long ball," as it is termed, to decide the contest scientifically-the gaining of the victory depending more on the destruction of property than the destruction of life.

Gas Stoves.--Sir,-Your intelligent correspondent, Mr. Baddeley, accuses me, in your last nnmber, of inconsistency in recommending a cup of water to be placed over the gas-stove described by "Evander." If he will refer to the description of that stove, he will find his mistake, inasmuch as the products of the consumed gas are not, in that arrangement, evolved into the apartment, which, therefore, cannot receive the water formed by the combination of the oxygen and hydrogen.-I am, &c. F. MACERONI.

Complete Sets of the Mechanics' Magazine may now be had, twenty-seven volumes, half-cloth, price 11. 7s.

THE STEAM CARRIAGE AND WAGGON COMPANY-SIR JAMES ANDERSON'S

STEAM CARRIAGE BOILER.

In a recent No. (770) we briefly noticed a company, which has lately been brought forward for the purpose of working steam carriages and waggons upon common roads. Our remarks were depreciatory of the project as a commercial enterprise, because we considered that the inventor, whose plan was advertised as being adopted by the pseudo Company, had done nothing to warrant the confidence of the public in his abilities to overcome the numerous difficulties which are incident to common road locomotion-and because we regarded it as a mere individual speculation, under the guise of a public undertaking, to put into temporary operation the individual speculator's patent. We considered, that if the company had been formed with the bona fide view of giving the public all the advantages that are obtainable from common road locomotion, and at the same time, with a chance of remunerating those who advanced the capital, the directors would have chosen their plan from amongst the inventors who have devoted their attention, time, or fortune to the attainment of the desired object, with the greatest success. As being next in importance to railways and steam navigation, we have always been anxious to make public all that has been projected and effected in this branch of commercial transit; and we may mention, as amongst those whose experiments have been recorded in our pages, and who have all done more than Sir James Anderson, the names of Gurney, Maceroni, Ogle, Maudslay and Field, the Heatons of Birmingham, Sir Charles Dance, Dr. Church, and above all, Mr. Walter Hancock. We believe, that if any thing is to be done with steam carriages on common roads, this last-named gentleman is he who is most likely to effect it. For twelve or fourteen years his undeviating aim has been the perfection of his steam carriage; he has built more carriages, travelled a far greater number of miles, and has, consequently, had far greater experience in the matter than any other engineer. In a letter detailing his travelling on the Paddington road in the autumn of 1836 (see No. 685), Mr. Hancock mentioned that he was preparing calculations, prov

ing, that even that traffic, unfavourable as the attendant circumstances were, was carried on at a profit; and he has since that time assured us to the same effect, taking interest of capital, wear and tear, expenses of fuel, stations, steersmen, engineers, and every thing else into consideration. If then, such be the fact, and we have no reason to doubt Mr. Hancock's statement, the sooner the matter is taken up and put into practice by enterprising capitalists the better.

Our only motive in thus putting forward Mr. Hancock's steam-carriage, is a desire to see steam locomotion flourish, not only on railways, but, if practicable, on common roads. We should have thought that the course to be pursued by a bona fide public company would have been to advertise a public competition, engaging to adopt the plan which should fulfil certain fixed conditions. Every steam carriage inventor, and his backing capitalist, would then have an opportunity of putting his locomotive to the test, and with a fair prospect of remuneration in case of success.

If the

We

result of such a trial, fairly conducted, should be against Mr. Hancock, and in favour of Sir James Anderson, or any one else, we should rest content. certainly, however, think that an undertaking, professing to be public, should either have chosen for its adoption that plan which had already been put to the most extensive and severe tests, or have left the matter open to competition.

To enable all who are interested in the matter to judge for themselves of the merits of Sir James Anderson's plan, the adopted of the Steam Carriage and Waggon Company, we give without expressing any opinion of our own, pro or con., the following description of his boiler, in the peculiar applicability of which, to locomotives, we presume the pith of his plan lies. We extract the description from the Farmers' Magazine for the present month, in which it forms part of a high-flown article in favour of common road, in opposition to railway locomotion. The writer, we are sorry to say, appears to have but a very partial knowledge of either branch of the subject; in his mechanical calculations he is altogether at fault; and, moreover, we think, that the road steamer could be more favourably supported by argu