ill of the teachers
which it reared. The vitiating element of self-interest would
scarce fail to induce, ultimately at least, a suspicious habit of
self-recommendation.

Such, then, in this matter, is our full tale of qualification,
pedagogical and popular, of the educators of the country on the
one hand, and of the educational franchise-holders of the country on
the other. And now we request the reader to mark one mighty result
of the arrangement, which no other yet set in opposition to it could
possibly produce. There are in Scotland about one thousand one
hundred national schools, supported by national resources; and, of
consequence, though fallen into the hands of a mere sect, which in
some localities does not include a tithe of the population, they
of right belong to the Scottish people. And these schools of the
_people_ that extension of the educational franchise which we
desiderate would not fail to restore to the _people_. It would put
them once more in possession of what was their own property _de
facto_ at the Revolution (for at that period, when, with a few
inconsiderable exceptions, they were all of one creed, the ministry of
the Established Church virtually represented them), and of what has
been _de jure_ their property ever since. But by the ministry of no
one Church can the people be represented now. The long rule of
Moderatism,--the consequent formation of the Secession and Relief
Churches,--the growth of Independency and Episcopacy,--and last,
but not least in the series, the Disruption, and the instantaneous
creation of the Free Church, have put an end to that state of things
for ever. The time has in the course of Providence fairly come,
when the people must be permitted in this matter to represent
themselves; and there is one thing sure,--the struggle may be
protracted, but the issue is certain. Important, however, as are our
parish schools, and rich in associations so intimately linked to the
intellectual glory of the nation, that, were they but mere relics of
the past, the custodiership of them might well be most desirable to
the Scottish people, they represent but a small part of the stake
involved in the present all-engrossing movement. It seeks also to
provide from the coffers of the State--on a broad basis of popular
representation, and with the reservation of a right on the part of
the people to supplement whatever instruction the State may not or
cannot supply--that fearful educational des