Poor Law Board, Whitehall, 12 May, 1853. SIR, I am directed by the Poor Law Board to return to you the draft of the contract proposed to be entered into by the guardians of the Glossop union with the guardians of the township of Manchester for the admission of pauper children belonging to the Glossop union into the Swinton schools. The Poor Law Board approve of the terms upon which the children are to be received into the schools in question, and they accordingly recommend that the proposed contract be executed by the contracting parties. I am, &c., G. Bowden, Esq., Clerk to the Guardians. (Signed) COURTENAY, Secretary. Poor Law Board, Whitehall, 22 September, 1854. SIR, I am directed by the Poor Law Board to state that they learn from a report made to them by their inspector, Mr. Doyle, after having visited the workhouse of the Glossop union on the 2nd instant, that an entry had been made in the visitors' book by one of Her Majesty's inspectors of schools on the subject of the arrangement entered into between the guardians and the guardians of Manchester, for the maintenance and education of of the pauper children of the Glossop union in the school at Swinton. I am directed to request that you will furnish the Board with a copy of the entry referred to. I am, &c., (Signed) A. FLEMING, Assistant Secretary. G. Bowden, Esq., Clerk to the Guardians. MY LORDS and GENTLEMEN, Glossop Union, In compliance with the request contained in your letter of the 22nd instant, I beg to forward you herewith, copies of two entries made in the visitors' book by Mr. Browne, one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools, on the subject of the arrangement entered into between the guardians of this union and the guardians of Manchester, for the maintenance and education of the pauper children at Swinton. (Signed) I am, &c., GEORGE BOWDEN, The Poor Law Board, &c. Clerk to the Guardians. I have examined the children here, and find them in a very low state; they appear to have been greatly neglected. I understand that it is proposed to send the pauper children in this house to Swinton; there can be no objection to this as a temporary arrangement, but Swinton is not really too large for the pauper children of Manchester alone, and there can be no doubt that there ought to be a school in this union for the Glossop children. The effect of sending the children out of the union to Swinton will be this, that many children whose stay is uncertain, but who often do remain in the workhouse a considerable time, will not be sent to Swinton, and consequently remain uneducated. The pauperism of every union must bear a certain proportion to its population, and taking into consideration the population of Glossop, it is evident that there must be a sufficient number of outdoor pauper children in this neighbourhood to form with the present inmates a school in the workhouse quite large enough to occupy fully the time of one teacher at least. Outdoor pauper children are now instructed in the workhouse at Manchester and in several other unions. As the salary of a teacher in Glossop workhouse would be paid from the Parliamentary grant, it is probable that the guardians would be able to educate 40 or 50 children here for an annual outlay less than what it would cost to educate 10 or 12 children at Swinton. T. B. BROWNE, Inspector of Schools. (Signed) 11 April, 1853. The children here are under the charge of a pauper, and in a state of extreme ignorance. None could read. The Lord's Prayer was repeated, but not understood. I have to recommend that a school be organized in the workhouse for the pauper children of this union. The result of the present arrangement under which the elder children are sent to Swinton is, that all children of an age to receive instruction are not properly instructed, as I anticipated. The duties of the guardians in re spect of education are not discharged by educating some children and neglecting the rest. (Signed) 27 March, 1854. T. B. BROWNE, Inspector of Schools. P.S.-It would be found, I think, more economical to educate the children in the workhouse, when suitable accommodation was once provided, than to pay for 10 at Swinton, as the teacher's salary would be paid from the Parliamentary grant. COMPOSITION. A. Select one of the following subjects for English Composition :1 A letter from an Australian colonist, describing the effects of the discovery of gold, and speculating as to its future consequences : Or, 2 A comparison of the merits and defects of any two historians with whose works you are acquainted : Or, 3 An essay on the influence of increased habits of travelling on national character. B. Write a letter applying for a situation in a mercantile house, selecting any branch of business you please. State fully the duties you are prepared to undertake, the nature of your previous employment, and any other circumstances which would naturally be mentioned in such an application. The letter should fill about two folio pages. C. Supposing yourself to have been asked to undertake the management of a gentlemen's estate, write a letter accepting or rejecting the offer. State as fully as you can the duties you conceive to be attached to the situation, and the reasons which have influenced your decision. The letter should fill not less than two folio pages. D. Supposing yourself to have received an offer of a situation in one of our colonial dependencies, write a letter accepting or rejecting it. Select any situation you please; state the nature of the duties and responsibilities which appear to be attached to it, and the reasons which have influenced your decision. The letter should fill not less than two folio pages. E. A London merchant has sent out a confidential agent to one of the following places; Hamburgh, Dantzic, Stockholm, Havre de Grace, Rio Janeiro, Lisbon, New York, or Boston U.S., with a view to his making full inquiries into the present state and future prospects of trade. Write a letter, as from such an agent to his employer, informing him of the result of such inquiries, and giving him full information on any point that would be useful under such circumstances. The letter should fill not less than two folio pages. PRÉCIS AND CORRESPONDENCE. Read the following correspondence, and (1) Make a short abstract of the several letters. (2) Write a final answer from the Secretary to the Admiralty, referring to and repeating the substance of the preceding letters, and rejecting the proposals of the Company. SIR, Mr. Howell to the Secretary of the Admiralty. Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, I am instructed by the Directors of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company to request you will be pleased to represent to the Lords of the Admiralty that the Directors entertain great apprehensions that the Contract Mail Service in the Indian, China, and Australian Seas must ere long be seriously interrupted for want of coal. The moment that the Company's tender for the new mail contract was accepted in March last, they commenced contracting for the supply of fuel to meet the double service, but from that time, owing to the scarcity of shipping, the prices of freight for its conveyance have risen so much as to amount to an increase of nearly 100 per cent., and at such prices the addition of cost to the Company on the year's operations would amount to upwards of 130,000., as per statement enclosed; this is exclusive of the Australian service. At the time of tender, coals, the produce of that country, could be obtained in abundance at 18s. 6d. per ton; this supply has already ceased altogether, the labour of the mines having been drawn to the gold fields; and now 80s. per ton for coal delivered at ports in Australia from this country has been unavailingly offered. But the question is now no longer one of price, the fact being that such has been the demand for shipping during the last six months, and such it still continues, that available tonnage, whether British or foreign, does not exist at the present time in the United Kingdom. A contractor with the Company and one of the largest ship-owners and agents in this country, unable to obtain tonnage in fulfilment of his contract, incurred a penalty to the extent of 3,0627. 11s. 1d., which, under the circumstances, the Company mitigated to 1,9037. 15s. 5d. and this amount he has paid. Another party, after supplying 3,900 tons of coal for Aden, under a contract for 8,000 tons, have announced their total inability to find tonnage for its completion. The Directors, although aware that other steam-mail contractors are likewise suffering from the same cause, have abstained from all communication on this subject, directly or indirectly; their cases, however, in comparison with that of the Peninsular and Oriental Company, are very different in extent. |