THB SOCTAL WORK OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES 285

Minister of Health* so need not fear to point out facts which may
be distasteful to his immediate employers.

EDUCATION.

Public education, like the public health services, began as a
matter of necessity and has been developed by public spirited
people as something desirable in itself. Early in the nineteenth
century the churches became alarmed at the widespread ignorance
of religion -among the growing population, and the State began
its activities by giving grants to religious bodies. This has had the
unfortunate result that every .extension of education has been
marked by arguments among different denominations as to their
claim on public funds. Employers found that modem industry
needed people who could read, write and count; the granting of
the vote in 1867 to working people provoked the famous remark
"we mist educate our masters". The 1870 Education Act, created
ad hoc School Boards to supplement the work of the denomina-
tional schools, and later Acts made education free and compulsory.
At this stage, however, education was of an unimaginative kind,
and the official attitude is illustrated by the provision that children
might leave school at an earlier age than usual if they had reached
a given standard A minimum of education was recognised as
necessary, but there was little idea of equipping everyone with the
training which would serve to bring out his talents to the full; for
the cleverer the child was, the earlier was it likely to leave school.
It is now realised that education should not only be vocational,
training pupils to earn a living, but cultural, fitting them to play
a part in the Government, of the country, and increasing their
happiness, through the development of their faculties. The 1902
Act abolished the School Boards, arranged for secondary education
in every district, and improved the quality of education. Further
improvements, including the raising of the school leaving age to
fourteen, were made by the 1918 Act, and in 1921 came a
Consolidating Act which is the basis of the present system.
County Boroughs are the authorities for all education in their