Bentham’s Constitutional Code: Functions of the Education Minister (Bowring version)

We have a problem with the Bowring edition: it is full of error. However, in this case it is the best one has, in relation to education. That’s because the first volume of the Code published in Bentham’s time ( signed copy) stops before considering the functions of the Education Minister. I have therefore used the OLL version of Bowring’s work, below.

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Section VIII.:

Education Minister.

Enactive.

Art. 1. To the Education Minister, under the Legislature and the Prime Minister, it belongs to give execution and effect to all institutions, ordinances, and arrangements, emaning from the Legislature, in relation to the subject of Education.

Enactive.

Art. 2. To this purpose, it belongs to him to exercise, under the direction of the Prime Minister,—as to all persons, in so far as employed under the direction, or at the expense, of Government in the business of Education, the locative, suppletive, directive, and dislocative functions;—as to his own office, the self-suppletive function;—as to things, in so far as thus employed in conjunction with the Finance Minister, the procurative, custoditive, applicative, reparative, transformative, and eliminative functions;—as to persons and things, the inspective;—as to persons, things, and occurrences, the statistic, recordative, publicative, and officially-informative;—as to states of things, ordinances, and arrangements, the melioration-suggestive.

[Sanjeev: Basically, Bentahm’s Education Minister has THREE main function: to inspect things, to record and report on the state of affairs, and to provide suggestive means to correct a situation]

Enactive. Expositive.

Art. 3. In the exercise of his directive function, to him it belongs to preside at all examinations, performed in public, for the purpose of ascertaining, and making manifest, the degree, absolute and comparative, of appropriate aptitude in all its branches, on the part of all aspirants to government offices. [Sanjeev: The Minister will hold an examination for all recruits to government]

Enactive. Expositive.

Art. 4. On this occasion, he has for assessors the Ministers, to whose subdepartments respectively belong the several branches of instruction, forming the subject matters of the several examinations. [Sanjeev: Relevant departements will send assessors for the public service exam]

Enactive.

Art. 5. To this Minister it belongs, moreover, to exercise, as to all such establishments within the territory of the state, as, having any branch of education for their object, are at any time on foot, or in progress, at the expense, or under the direction of sublegislatures, of individuals, or incorporated or otherwise associated bodies,—the inspective, the statistic, and melioration-suggestive functions. [Sanjeev: The functions apply to all institutions that are involved in education, including religious institutions]

Enactive. Instructional.

Art. 6. On this occasion, it belongs to him, with more particular care, to inquire, and from time to time to report, whether there be any and what institutions or establishments, in which application is made of the matter of punishment or of that of reward, in such manner as thereby to engage any persons to make profession of particular opinions as to any subject, more particularly as to government, morals, or religion. [Sanjeev: The Minister will examine whether institutions are giving rewards or punishments to influence POLITICAL or RELIGIOUS opinion]

Ratiocinative.

Art. 7. An establishment thus applied, is an establishment for the subornation of falsehood, by irresistible means; falsehood, the appropriate instrument of crime in all its shapes. By it, throughout the whole field of judicature,—domestic as well as public,—that which should be justice, is converted into injustice, and the judge, howsoever unwillingly, rendered the accomplice of the evil-doer. Of falsehood in this shape, discovery is impossible. Under this security, on what occasion soever, by the commission of it reward may be earned, or by the noncommission of it, punishment incurred, the commission of it follows of course. No opinion more absurd or more mischievous can be conceived, than are many of those, the profession of which is thus regularly obtained, at the hands of millions. Be the opinion what it may, the support thus given to it, is presumptive evidence of its being in itself false, and conclusive evidence of its being so in the eyes of such its supporters and their approvers. An establishment for the subornation of falsehood is an establishment for the propagation of immorality, and for the poisoning of the fountains of justice. Of no crime commissible by an individual, can the mischief be equal, in extent or magnitude, to that produced by every institution, of which, upon a national scale, corruption in this shape is the fruit.

Suppose that among the supporters of it, there be really any person in whose eyes, while he himself is exempt from pernicious error, all others are to such a degree prone to it, that a declaration of this sort, if prescribed or approved by himself, is more likely to prevent, than to produce mischievous error,—by no persuasion of his sincerity can Government be warranted in placing or leaving any such instrument of despotism in his hands. [Sanjeev: UNCLEAR. He seems to be suggesting that educational institutions should not be diverted into ulterior causes which lead to deception and fraud in public life]

Enactive. Instructional.

Art. 8. On the occasion of the inspection taken of Education Establishments maintained at the expense of the several sublegislatures, bodies corporate, and individuals respectively,—it will therefore be the especial care of the Education Minister not to exercise any coercive or unnecessary interference, with the view of producing uniformity, contrary to the opinions and wishes of the parties immediately concerned. [Sanjeev: Since coercive ways to impose opinions is not good, the Minister should not do so during his inspections]

Enactive. Instructional.

Art. 9. It will in a more especial manner be his care to avoid giving offence to any persons concerned, in respect of the opinions respectively professed by them on the subject of religion, to the end that no person may be debarred from maintaining and disseminating, in relation to that subject, any opinion whatsoever:—every individual being responsible for any offence into which he may have been led, by entertainment given to erroneous opinions. [Sanjeev: This also means that Minister won’t try to stop others from their opinions]

Enactive. Instructional.

Art. 10. In case any such opinions should present themselves to his observation as have, or are likely to have, the effect of producing mischief, by acts placed in the catalogue of offences,—he will report them to the Legislature, to the end that, in case of need and use, provision may be made of appropriate instruction and warning, holding up to view the erroneousness of the opinions, and the offences with which, as above, they present themselves to his view as being pregnant.

Enactive. Instructional.

Art. 11. In the exercise of the statistic, inspective, and melioration-suggestive functions,—to the Education Minister, in concert with the Indigence Relief Minister, it belongs to consider, and from time to time to report, whether, by any and what means, for relief against excess of population, at any time, in the whole or in any particular part of the territory of this State, the non-adult or junior portion of the relief-requiring class,—the orphan class in particular,—may, by appropriate preparatory education and instruction, be employed with advantage, in the way of colonization:^* relief being given in land unappropriated or unemployed, in this State or any friendly foreign State, near, adjacent, or in any degree remote: the employment in which they are brought up, being combined into a system, specially directed to this object. Ingrafted on this question may be another,—whether, from a colony, if thus established, any contribution in any shape towards the relief of the helpless class, to be administered here, or in any such colony, can be looked to, as obtainable.