but they are gravitating rapidly towards it. The theological
colleges are necessarily independent, but the University offers their
students a course in arts, so that they can specialise on theology
and its kindred subjects. The ideal system is: an efficient and
patriotic University regulating the whole work of the secondary and
elementary schools, guided by the willingness of the County Councils,
or of an education authority appointed by them, to provide means.

The rise of the educational system is the most striking and the most
interesting chapter in Welsh history. But the facts are so numerous
and the development is so sudden that, in spite of one, it becomes a
mere list of acts and dates.



CHAPTER XXIV--LOCAL GOVERNMENT



The French Revolution was condemned by Britain, and the voices raised
in its favour in Wales were few. The excesses of the Revolution, and
the widespread fear of a Napoleonic invasion, caused a strong
reaction against progress. The years immediately after were years of
great suffering, but the very suffering prepared the way for the
progress of the future, because it made men willing to leave their
own districts and to move into the coal and slate districts, where
wages were high enough to enable them to live.

The first demand was for political enfranchisement. In 1832, in
1867, and in 1884 the franchise was extended, and every interest