| This letter, from a George Williams to A.J. Balfour, the
Minister for Education, demonstrates the importance of adult education at
a time when few had access to secondary schools and also shows British fears
about competition from foreigners and immigrants. Robert Morant, in a minute
contained in the same government file as Williams' letter, commented that,
while such letters might be part of an orchestrated political campaign,
they nevertheless showed 'the political danger of the situation. These adult
scholars at Evening Schools have votes'. Leading Tories, such as the Duke
of Devonshire, who was President of the Board of Education, also argued
that 'unless secondary schools can receive some assistance, either from
the taxes or the rates, I am afraid that we shall remain permanently behind
other countries'. |
