"Thrice is he armed that hath his quarrel just."-SHAKESPEARE. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes." The disgust of the inhabitants, and particularly of the committee was so great, that it was resolved to take proceedings against the Vice-Chancellor's decision, and an appeal was consequently entered on February 21st, 1852. But on the 8th of April, I received the following letter and a notice from our chairman, through his solicitor, Mr. Henry Saunders, which precluded our proceeding in the matter as the rules of the Upper House required us, on account of Mr. Minifie's resignation, to begin de novo :— "Dear Sir, "Kidderminster, March 31st, 1852. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL v. THE BISHOP OF WORCESTER AND OTHERS. "I have been considering the great expenses that have been already incurred in this chancery suit, and which, according to the decision of Vice-Chancellor Turner, appears to be so much money thrown away; I am extremely unwilling to spend any more money upon it, and have come to the determination not to do so. If you and the rest of the relators like to carry on the suit at your own expense you can do so, but for my part I decline laying out another penny unnecessarily. I am, therefore, decided to have nothing to do with any appeal to the House of Lords, the Lord Justices, or the Lord Chancellor. If you and the others choose to appeal yon must do so at your own expense, for I shall be no party to it. I consider it a complete waste of money, and a very great source of trouble and anxiety. With these views I have had a regular notice drawn up by my solicitor, of which I hand you a copy herewith. "I am dear sir, yours truly, "To Mr. George Griffith." WM. MINIFIE." The committee upon receiving this notice, resolved at a special meeting not to carry on their appeal to the House of Lords, as the uncertainty of our success, and the fear of heavy expenses, weighed with a majority of them. But I determined, whatever others might do, not to let the question cool down. I therefore at once commenced action by calling a public meeting at Worcester, which was held in the Guildhall, on December the 17th, 1851. An account of the proceedings thereat appeared in the Worcester Journal the next day, but as the time was so short for publication, only a summary was given, which was as follows: Yesterday (Tuesday) evening, a lecture was delivered in the Guildhall Assembly Room, in this city, on the subject of the grammar schools of England and Wales-their original formation, and the present state and condition of most of them, as being opposed to the intentions of their founders-by Mr. George Griffith, a member of the Kidderminster towncouncil, and well known to fame as the principal relator in the late Chancery suit, connected with the grammar school in that borough. The lecture was announced as a free one, and intended mainly for persons of the middle and working classes, of both of whom there was a numerous attendance. Mr. Alderman Cowell, at the request of the meeting, consented to preside. In commencing his observations, Mr. Griffith alluded to the subject he was about to introduce as being of more importance than imagined by some people, and intimated his desire to consider it not strictly as a local but as a national one. He observed that, in the statements he was about to make he should rely only on documentary evidence and recorded facts. He divided his subject into seven different heads, under which he fully considered it, and quoted largely to show how various free schools in the Metropolis, Worcester, and elsewhere, designed by the original founders to be devoted to the education of the children of the poor alone, had been diverted and perverted from such purposes, and made the instruments of educating the children of those classes who could well afford to pay for it. "He observed that, looking to the expense and futility of appealing to Chancery to remedy the existing evils, he had come to the determination of visiting all the large towns in this and the adjoining counties, and by means of gratuitous lectures explaining the whole subject, and placing before the people generally the present state of these charitable institutions (in which work he should be seconded by others in various parts of the kingdom), and by the appointment of corresponding committees in each place, form a junta sufficiently strong to urge upon the attention of Parliament the rights of the people, and procure their restoration. We cannot pretend, owing to the heavy demands upon our space, to give even an analysis of the lecture, but we may mention that Mr. Griffith gave a minute description of the constitution of the Cathedral establishment and the grammar school connected with it, and of each of the three other educational institutions in this city, maintained by charitable bequests-and described in how much the designs of the pious donors had been departed from. He also similarly noticed the Bromsgrove free grammar school, and complained that the gold and silver medals (the money with which they were purchased having been left by a lady, in her will, to be distributed in prizes among all the boys) had been given to the boarders alone, the sons of strangers. From hence he passed on to Stourbridge, Dudley, and Kidderminster, respecting which schools he gave ample details, but observed that he believed at the Dudley grammar school, matters were better managed now than formerly. At the close of the lecture, a vote of thanks was unanimously passed to Mr. Griffith, on the motion of the chairman, seconded by Mr. Councillor Pugh, which was appropriately acknowledged. Mr. Pugh proposed, and Mr. Jeffery seconded a vote of thanks to the chairman, which was similarly carried; and one to the mayor, for his kindness in granting the use of the hall on the occasion, proposed by Mr. Griffith, and seconded by Mr. Jones, was carried by acclamation. Mr. Alderman Cowell suitably responded to both these expressions of public opinion, and the proceedings terminated." The statements advanced by me at this meeting brought out the following letter from the head-master of Bromsgrove school : "THE BROMSGROVE GRAMMAR SCHOOL. "To the Editor of the Worcester Journal. "Sir,-In your journal of the 17th instant, Mr. Griffith is reported to have "complained that the gold and silver medals at the grammar school, at Bromsgrove, have been given to the boarders, the sons of strangers, the money with which they were purchased having been left by a lady in her will, to be distributed among the town boys." The prizes in question were left in 1828. On this subject, Mr. Topham, of Droitwich, has authorized me to state," It was at my suggestion that Mrs. Wattell gave £200, the interest of which was yearly to be expended in two gold medals, or books, instead of increasing the salary of the master to that amount, as she proposed to do, out of her respect to myself; which prizes were never intended to be offered to the blue-coat boys, but the design was to bring pupils to the school by such a stimulus, and thus to benefit both master and townspeople." "You will agree with me that Mr. Topham, then head master of the school is a better authority than the lecturer who made the above incorrect statement. I, for one, feel grateful to Mr. Topham for his judicious suggestion; the result has amply justified his anticipation; and these substantial prizes are of far greater benefit to the school than the addition of £10 to the head master's present salary of £35 would have been. "I remain, Sir, your obedient Servant, "December 29th, 1851." "JOHN DAY COLLIS, M.A., "Late Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford, Head Master of King Edward the Sixth's School, Bromsgrove." To this I replied as follows: "THE BROMSGROVE GRAMMAR SCHOOL. "To the Editor of the Worcester Journal. "SIR,-In reply to the letter of the Rev. J. D. Collis, of Bromsgrove, I beg to say that I did not make an "incorrect statement" about the medals. I quoted simply from the Charity Commissioners' Reports (printed by order of the House of Commons), after the Commissioners visited Bromsgrove school; and, as I have no intention of attacking individuals, but only the system pretty generally carried out at these boarding schools, (not being what they were founded for, viz., free schools,) I beg to subjoin extracts from the founder's indenture and will, and also, from the Commissioners' remarks on the subject, and leave the Bromsgrove people to judge of the matter for themselves. "First, as to the scholars :-" By indenture, dated 22nd June, 1693, Sir Thomas Cookes left an annuity to certain trustees, 'to the end that the poor children dwelling in, and in the adjacent places to the parish of Bromsgrove, might not only be in a great measure provided, but also have a virtuous and learned education, to dispose of the same to such learned orthodox person who should for the time being be schoolmaster of Bromsgrove school, who should yearly teach twelve such poor boys, gratis, English, Latin, and, if capable, Greek, and to write and cast accounts." "And by his will, dated 19th February, 1696, he gave certain trustees the sum of £10,000, to purchase lands,* and with the rents and profits thereof either to build an ornamental pile of buildings in Oxford, and endow the same with so many scholars' places and fellowships as they should think the * What is this £10,000 worth of land in 1696, worth now in 1852 ? revenue would maintain. And when such scholars' places and fellowships should be so settled, then such boys as should be educated in his schools at Bromsgrove and Feckenham as for their learning should be thought fit for the university, and such principally as should be of his relations, and for want of such fit boys there-then such fit boys educated in the free schools in Worcester, Hartlebury, Kidderminster, or other free schools in the county of Worcester-preference to be given to boys related to him, and next of such boys whose parents should be of the meanest degree of ability.” "Secondly, as to the masters' salaries :-In the endowment of 1693 it is provided, "That such persons who should for the future be the owner and inheritor of the greatest part of his estate should, for the future, by their wills or deeds, make some yearly additions in aid of the said schoolmasters, or charity boys in the said schools, that thereby the said schools might flourish, and much good redound to such poor boys there being, whose parents should not be able better to help or provide for them; in failure whereof he devised his messuage and farm, held by John Smith, in the parish of Northfield, the rents whereof were to increase the masters' salaries." "Thirdly, as to the medals:-It is provided in Catherine Wattell's will, dated 22nd January, 1828, that the boy who should upon such examination (between the 12th and 16th June) "have made the greatest improvement in the books he had read the preceding year, should be entitled to a gold medal to the value of two-third parts of the interest and dividends of the said £200, or to a book of the like value;" and the second best boy a silver medal or book to the value of one third-(i.e., a gold medal, or book, value £6 13s. 4d., and a silver medal, or book, value £3 6s. 8d.) "I will make no comment, but will add the Commissioners' words upon these three points. As to the twelve boys' education, they say, "When we consider the ample provision made by the will of Sir Thomas Cookes at the university, for the benefit of boys educated in his schools, to be enjoyed preferably by boys of his own kindred, and in default of such, then by such other fit boys whose parents should be of the meanest degree or ability, we see no reason why any of the twelve blue boys should be excluded from offering themselves as candidates for the six scholarships and other advantages at Worcester College. We think, therefore, that any or the blue boys, whose parents may desire it, are entitled to receive classical instruction in the same classes with the private pupils of the master, thus fulfilling the donor's wish, (as expressed in the deed of 1693, that they should receive not only a virtuous but a learned education.)" And, as to the medals, they say, "As we have before observed that the blue boys ought not to be excluded from any of the benefits of the foundation, such |