472

Appendix F.

TABLE AND NOTE, No. II.

School Accommodation, already provided by, and in connexion with, the various Religious Denominations; estimated at 8 square feet for each child; and the amount of such not brought into daily use.

* This includes class rooms capable of accommodating 2959 children.

The Religious Bodies have provided School accommodation for 56,144 children, (that is, for 1 in 6.95 of the population) allowing 8 square feet for each child; or if 6 square feet (which is usually considered sufficient) be taken, School room is provided for 74,887 children (that is, for 1 in 5-21 of the population).

But, out of this vast amount of School accommodation (reckoned at the latter estimate), only one-third is yet brought into use; the remainder being unused, chiefly from want of scholars.

NOTE. The above Table, which was compiled from private inquiry, gives 21,795 children attending school; but the Census Returns (Evidence, p. 475.) give only 17,002 "attending," and 20,920 "on the books," but this difference may probably be accounted for, by the Census Returns classifying Denominational Schools conducted on teachers' private speculation, not as Public Schools, but as Private Schools,

Appendix F.

473

TABLE AND NOTE, No. III.

Proportion of Scholars to the Population, 1851,
From various Data.

Population of the Municipal Boroughs of Manchester and Salford, together with the Townships of Broughton and Pendleton, and part of Pendlebury, 390,566.

*This number represents all the children that in any sense and by any means can be said to participate in daily instruction.

This number represents the Scholars attending School, although irregularly; and is estimated from the Mean between the number on the Books, and those in average attendance, and includes not only 707 children in Swinton and other schools, which, though connected with Manchester, are beyond the limits of the population, but also 743 children in Workhouse and other Schools, within the limits, omitted in the Census Tables.

§ If to these two returns, the 743 children omitted be added, (which being resident in establishments, their number in both cases will be the same,) the proportion will become

Increase of Day School Attendance and Increase of Population from 1834-5 to 1851, compared.

Preliminary Considerations.

In making the proposed comparison, the same extent of district, and the same basis for estimating School attendance, must be taken for both periods. The authority to be consulted for 1834-5 is that of the Statistical Society's Reports for Manchester and Salford; and that for 1851, the Census Returns.

In 1835, the population of the Manchester Borough is given by the Statistical Society (p. 45.) for the year 1831, as 187,022; but deducting from this 4377, for the extra-municipal township of Newton, we have the population of the Manchester Borough for that year 182,645. In like manner, the School attendance of that township must be deducted; that is, 407 must be deducted from 18,661-giving 18,254 children for the School attendance of the borough.

To allow for the increase of the population in four years, the Statistical Society estimated that of Manchester, in 1835, to be 200,000. But, because 187,022 : 200,000:182,645: 195,373, we must take the population of the Manchester Borough, in 1835, as 195,373.

The Census Returns give the population of the same borough, in 1851, as 303,043.- (Evidence, p. 475.)

As respects Salford and its contiguous townships, the Statistical Society's Report for Salford (p. 45.) represents the aggregate population of Salford Borough, and the townships of Broughton and Pendleton, as 50,810 in 1831, which in 1834 it raises to 55,000.

The Census Returns for 1851 give the population of the same district 84,773. – (Evidence, p. 475.)

The Statistical Society, in respect to the Day Schools, report only the actual attendance at school; the only approximation to which, in the Census Returns, is the average attendance at Day Schools.

1834-5. Population. Manchester, 195,373; Salford and Townships, 55,000; Total, 250,373.- Actual School Attendance. (Schools) Manchester, 18,254; Salford and Townships, 5,845; (Institutions) Manchester and Salford, 266; Total, 24,365.

1851. Population. Manchester, 303,043; Salford and Townships, 84,773; Total, 387,816.-Arerage School Attendance. (Schools) Manchester, 22,451; Salford and Townships, 5951; (Institutions) Manchester and Salford, 743; Total, 29,145.

(Evidence, p. 475. Manchester and Salford Statistical Society's Reports for

It appears, therefore, in respect to Day School attendance at the present time, it is worse than it was 17 years ago; inasmuch as from 1834-5 to 1851, Day School attendance, considered in relation to the population, has decreased from 1 in 10:27 to 1 in 13:30.

Appendix F.

475

TABLE AND NOTE, No. IV.

Estimated number of Children of the Working Classes, between 3 and 15 years of age, neither "at school" nor "at work.”

1. These returns include all children whom the different parties that made the returns considered to be receiving any kind of daily instruction, either "under a master or governess at home," or by attending school.

2. The better educated classes of society would generally make such returns pretty correctly; and, therefore, comparatively few of the children of these classes will be found among such, as in the above table, are "undescribed."

3. The less educated and many of the working classes are known to have very lax notions respecting school attendance; and, therefore, the returns from those classes may be considered to be much exaggerated.

4. And consequently it is probable, that the number of children "undescribed" will fall short of the whole number of children of the working classes, who are neither at school" nor "at work."

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Remarks on the Private Inquiry.

1. The number of "children attending school" exceeds by 5358 the corresponding return of the census (Evidence, p. 475.); although the total number of children here given exceeds that of the Census Returns above, by only 703 children, and therefore this Table makes a very liberal representation of the total school attendance.

2. No evidence has been adduced to show that the additional number (22,178) here taken to represent the children of the middle and upper classes "at home" or "in employment," together with those of the working classes "in employment," is likely to be below the actual number.