offer it
so perplexing, cramping, and discouraging as the unintelligible and
unreasonable absurdities of English literary spelling. That it somehow
generally wrestles through is only a demonstration of the wrong that
is done to it; and I would say, better leave it alone to find its
own way, better teach it nothing at all, than worry it with the
incomprehensible, indefensible confusion of such nonsense.]

[Sidenote: Demand of the market.]

Now here is a promising field for adventure. Not only is the creation
of a new fount of type an elaborate and expensive process, but the
elaboration of a good system and its public recognition when produced
involve much time; so that any industrial company that is early in
the market with a complete apparatus and a sufficient reputation will
carry all before it, and be in a position to command and secure great
monetary profit.

There is no doubt that the field is now strongly held by the
Anglo-Prussian society which Mr. Jones represents.[23]

[Footnote 23: The peril that we are in of having Mr. Jones' degraded
pronunciation thus sprung upon us in England and taught in all our
schools is really threatening. Indeed, as things are, there is little
prospect of escaping from it, supposing the democracy should once
awake to the commercial and spiritual advantages of teaching language
phonetically: and that would seem to be only a question of time: the
demand may come at any moment, and a complete machinery which has
been skilfully prepared to meet the demand will offer practical
conveniences to outbalance every other consideration.

Even supposing the authorities in the Education Department
sufficiently alive to the situation which it is the purpose of this
section of my essay to bring to the fore, yet even then, were they all
unanimous, they could not give effect to their convictions, because--

They are forbidden to recommend or give preference to any particular
book. They may not order or prohibit the use of any book, however good
or bad they may know it to be, and they probably desire to avoid the
suspicion of favouring the authors of books that have the advantage of
national circulation.

However that may be, it is a lamentable situation that our
high-salaried Board of Education, composed of the best trained
intelligence of the country, should not be allowed to exercise its
discretion efficiently. The people, no doubt, cannot be agreed as to
the principles on which they desire