The dissenters in England are, first, the Presby terians, who nearly coincide with the Church of England as to doctrine, but differ in church-govern ment, allowing no hierarchy in individuals; next the Independents, who go farther, and disclaim hierarchy in synods and other collective assemblies ; the well known sect of Quakers date from the middle of the seventeenth century ; the more numerous Metho dists from 1729. Of the Anabaptists, the chief cha racteristic is their not receiving baptism till they be come adults. The Catholics in England are not nu merous, but comprise a large proportion of wealthy families. The Test Act declares that no person can be legally elected to a public office unless he be a member of the Church of England; but an act of Parliament is annually passed to indemnify all per.. sons who shall not have complied with the requisi tions of the Test Act.
In regard to the mode of education in England, there is much both to commend and censure. Scot land has been for a century past in possession of a larger proportion of parish schools ; but the utility of these is much lessened by an established routine of teaching Latin to almost all youths, whatever be their intended line of life. In England this absurdity is less prevalent, because most of the schools are pri. vate undertakings, the managers of which are neces. sarily guided by considerations of utility. The youth destined for a life of business are thus saved a seri ous waste of time; their education, if imperfect, is not supererogatory ; but, on examining the higher seminaries of England, we find much ground for dis appointment, and many marks of a blind adherence to ancient usage. Two universities are evidently in adequate to the education of the nobility, the gen try, and the clergy of so populous a country. Their course of study, also, is quite unsuitable to the fu ture occupations of many of the students. They were originally designed for the education of church men ; and, to this day, Latin and Greek, with the addition of mathematics at Cambridge, form the chief objects of instruction. In a country of which commerce forms the strength, there are no teachers of political economy. Under a government which has so long borne the representative form, there are no classes for the study of modern history, or the principles of legislation. There are here hardly any of those public lectures, which, in the rest of Europe, constitute the grand characteristic of a university, and distinguish it from schools :—all, or nearly all, is done by private tuition. Each college has two, three, or more tutors (appointed from among the fellows), who receive in their rooms the students at stated hours, and read Greek or Latin with a class, which, in Oxford, rarely exceeds half a dozen at a time. Again, in point of constitution, while in other
countries a university forms, in general, one large association, in England each college is a distinct bo dy, having its head, its fellows, and its students, who, as far as education is concerned, have very little connection with the rest of the university. It is, doubtless, this insulation, both as to study and disci pline, that has prevented the formation of public classes, and been the cause of the very uniform and limited course followed both at Oxford and Cam bridge. In one point, however, these venerable se minaries redeem their faults, and assert the dignity of their character;—we mean in their public exami nations. These, since the early part of the present century, have been put on an admirable footing, both at Oxford and Cambridge ; distinguishing the relative degrees of proficiency with great accuracy, and con verting into a full and impartial trial that which in other universities is almost always a mere form.
No country rivals England in the magnificence of her academical buildings. While in France, Germa ny, or Holland, a university possesses only a single pile of building, Oxford and Cambridge can boast for every college a large, commodious, and generally an elegant structure. The endowments appropri ated to them are very various, both in their origin and destination, but they arise chiefly from land, and, having increased with the rise of rents, are in many cases very ample. The destination of these funds is regulated by the bequest of the donors, and the established usage of the colleges : part going to students, under the name of exhibitions or scholar ships: part to the head and fellows ; and a farther part, consisting in livings, which devolve in succes sion on the fellows, and lead to their removal from the university. The number of students has of late been considerably on the increase in both universi ties; but the public lists retaining the names of ma ny who have long left college, the number actually engaged in a course of study does not exceed 2500, taking Oxford and Cambridge together. A hall is an inferior college ; an academical establishment not incorporated or endowed, but possessed of exhibi tions or other provisions for students. Oxford has nineteen colleges and five halls. Cambridge twelve colleges and four halls.