made in the condition of the people. Their food had been cheapened; the
conditions under which they performed their daily toil in the factory or
the mine had been improved; and their comforts greatly increased. In all
these respects their lot compared favourably with that of other nations.
But in education the English were still far behind some of their
neighbours, and especially the Germans.

For thirty or forty years before the passing of the Education Act, a great
deal had been done by voluntary effort towards supplying the educational
needs of the people in England. The National Society, and the British and
Foreign Society, by building schools and training teachers, had done much
for the children of our native land. Parliament also had lent its aid, by
voting an annual grant towards the expenses of the existing schools.

But the population was increasing so rapidly that, in spite of these
efforts, there was still a great lack of schools. After all that had been
done, it was calculated that there yet remained two-thirds of the juvenile
population of the country for whom no provision had been made. An inquiry
into the condition of education in some of the large towns showed sad
results. In Birmingham, out of a population of 83,000 children of school
age, only 26,000 were under instruction; Leeds showed a proportion of
58,000 to 19,000; and so on with other towns.

These figures startled men of all parties; and it was felt that not a
moment more ought to be lost in providing for the educational needs which
had been shown to exist. Accordingly, Mr Forster, the Vice-president of
the Council, a statesman whose name will be honourably handed down in
connection with this great question, brought in his famous scheme for
grappling with the difficulty. Like all great measures, it was noted for
its simplicity.