Upon the subject of religionS instruction, the law was left unaltered. The enactment of 1857 provides as follows: " Primary instruction, while it imparts the information necessary, is to tend to develop the reason of the young, and to train them to the exercise of all Christian and social virtues. The teacher shall abstain from teaching, doing, or permitting anything contrary to the respect due to the convictions of Dissenters. Religions instruction is left to the different religious communions. The schoolroom may he put at their disposal for that purpose, for the benefit of children attending school, out of school-hours." This was the conclusion arrived at, after much excited discussion.
In all religions were, in Holland, placed by the law on a perfect equality; and immediately thereafter, an attack was begun by the Roman Catholics on the religious instruction of the schools. Professedly neutral, they maintained that it was really Protestant, and probably they were right. The schoolmasters, on the demand of the Roman Catholics, were enjoined to comply mere strictly with the law; and thereupon there began among the orthodox Protestant bodies a violent agitation against the law—a movement for connecting every public school with some religious communion. The Roman Catholics, believing that in Holland neutral schools must be Protestant, desired that the instruction should be purely secular; and a considerable party among the Prot estants contended fur the seine object. The only party in favor of the existing law were the rationalist or new-school Protestants, who attach more importance to the moral and civilizing side of Christianity than to its dogmatic aspects. Between the benom inationalists on one band and Pile secularists on the other, the victory fell to this last party. Of course, the decision was a compromise; and neither the high Protestant party nor the Roman Catholics regard it with satisfaction. The consequence has been that, advantage being taken of the newly-conceded freedom of instruction, there has been a great increase in the number of private elementary schools conducted on the denom inational basis. The non-denominational school in Holland cannot be considered entirely successful, since the opposition to it seems to be leading to primary education being to a considerable extent taken out of the control of the state.
State Education in Switzerland.
In no part of Europe has the education of the people been more successfully prose tilted than in Switzerland. In all the cantons, French and German, it has been carefully attended to by the governing bodies: and for small communities, provided the rulers have intelligence and public spirit, it is comparatively a simple and easy task. To those who are interested in school-methods and school-management, nothing can be more instructive than the education of the GerMan cantons. Their primary schools are unsur passed; those of the canton Aargau have a reputation of being the best in Europe. The, experience of the French cantons throws light upon more than one of the questions which occur in the construction of it national system. It is with the latter class of questions that we are concerned; and to the French cantons—Geneva, Vaud, Freiburg, Neufchatel, and Valais—the following statement is confined.
In these five emrocrip,:the school-system was, until recently; the same in its main out lines; it was a system designed to put public education in harmony with the democratic constitutions established after the war of the Sonderbund. In 'Vaud, it was founded in
18-t6; in Geneva and Freiburg, in 1848; in the Valais, in 1843; and in Neufchatel, in 1850. In Freiburg, it underwent modification iu 1856. Its main features were us fol lows: The communes were required to provide and maintain public schools, the state assisting them when the charge became too heavy. In general, every place with more than 2echildren of was required to have its school; every place with more than 50 or 60, a second school; and so on. Infant-schools were recommended and aided by the state, but their establishment was not made obligatory. The council of state— die supreme executive—of the canton appointed a board of public instruction to exercise the government of education; but in important matters, an appeal lay from this body to the council; and by the council only could a master be dismissed. The municipality appointed it communal school-committee, which bad the local superintendence of the schools, Ministers of religion were eligible for this body, hut were not members of it by virtue of office. It was the duty of the to visit the schools of its commune not less thou once a fortnight, besides holding a public general examination of theta once a year. The teacher required to get a certificate of capacity; the exturina tious for the certificate being under the management of the board of public instruction. In Vaud, however, five years' service in a public school exempted a Leacher front the obligation of a certificate; and in other cantons, it does not seem to have been rigidly insisted on. For vacant masterships, there was a competitive examination, to which persons qualified by certificate or service only were properly admitted; in Vaud, how ever, failing qualified persons. other candidates might he admitted to examination, and provisionally appointed. In GeneVa, Freiburg, and Valais, there were school inspectors who periodically reported to the board of public instruction; Vaud and Neufchatel had no inspectors; the duty of inspection in these cantons devolved upon the sehool-emn mittee. The subjects taught were religion, reading, writing, grammar, arithmetic and book-keeping, geography, Swiss history, and singing. The instruction given had two or more degrees (in Geneva, six degrees), according as these subjects were taught with more or less extension; instruction in both degrees being usually given in the same school, and by the same master. Education was to be based upon the " principles of Christianity and democracy." Hours were to be set apart for religious instruction; front the ordinary school-lessons dogma was to be strictly excluded; and it was regarded as the province of the minister of religion. not of the schoolmaster, to give religious instruction, though the latter was not prevented from giving it in the room of, aud under the responsibility of a minister. In all the cantons, except Geneva, educations was made compulsory; attendance at school was required from the 7th to the 15th. or from the 8th to the 16th year. If children were privately educated, the state must he satisfied that their education was sufficient; such children could be called up for exam ination with the scholars of the public schools, mid if found inferior, might be trans ferred to a public school. A certificate of emancipation was granted when the obligatory course had been fulfilled. The law contemplated that the instruction should be gratu itous, and in Geneva and the Valais it was gratuitous.