the whole were men of steady, reputable character, and some of them were in the receipt of wages considerably above the average of the district.
This occurrence broke upon the public ear with a startling effect, and the Central Society of Education in London sent a gentleman down to investigate the circumstances on the spot. The result of his inquiries has been given to the world in an elaborate paper in the third volume of the publication issued by the Society, to which book I refer the reader for a further account of these riots. I will, however, make a few short extracts to show the state of education among the peasantry of Kent.
The report gives to fifty-one families examined, forty-five children above the age of fourteen years, and 117 under that age. Of the first class, eleven only can read and write, twenty-one can read a little, and the remainder cannot. In the second class, forty-two attend school, but several of these go only occasionally, the rest do not go at all. Six only can read and write; of twenty-two who can read, only thirteen read fluently, and nine very little; and the remainder cannot read at all. In twelve families the boys assist their father in his labor, and seldom receive any instruction. In fifteen families the girls do the household matters, and in thirty-four families they do nothing but wash and needle-work.
The parish possessed a Sunday school, and three others, in one only of which was writing taught. This school was kept by a master, who, being from physical infirmity incapable of labor, was obliged to adopt this mode of life. He had only eighteen scholars, and half of this number came from neighboring parishes. The two other schools were merely dame-schools, in which nothing but sewing and reading are taught. Many of the children attend so irregularly, and are often absent for such long periods, that they forget all they have
