So much for town ideas of the
education of country children; the suggestion was enough to bring
about the catastrophe, given the opportunity and a box of matches.
Some of the inspectors were very agreeable men; they occasionally came
to luncheon at my house, and I once asked where the best-managed
schools were to be found. The reply was, "In parishes where the
voluntary schools still exist, and the feudal system is mildly
administered."
Our villagers, reading of the large sums that we were obliged to
expend in response to the requirements of the Education Department,
and finding the consequent rates a burden, began to think of economy
and nothing but economy, so that though I had expected them to be only
too anxious to provide the very best possible education for their own
children, it came as a surprise that this was quite a subordinate aim
to that of keeping down the cost. And this was the more unexpected, as
the main cost fell upon the large ratepayers, like myself and the
railway company and the owners of land and cottages rented rate-free.
At the next election several of these economists became candidates,
with the result that many of the original members including myself
were not returned, in spite of the fact that our well-planned and
well-built schools were erected at a lower cost per child than any in
the neighbourhood.
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