https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ Theses Digitisation: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/research/enlighten/theses/digitisation/ This is a digitised version of the original print thesis. Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] EDUCATION AND POLITICS IN SCOTLAND 1 9 0 0 -1 9 3 0 John Hywel Roberts Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Education Faculty of Arts University of Glasgow October 1990 © John Hywel Roberts ProQuest Number: 11007563 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11007563 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 C o n te n ts Contents ii Acknowledgements iii List of Illustrations vi List of Tables vii Abbreviations viii Summary ix I The Scottish Environment 1900-1914 1 I The Political Context 23 II The Character of the Legislators 40 IV The Pattern of Control and Administration: Central and Local Authorities 57 V Scottish Education Legislation 1904-1908 83 VI The Impact of the Treasury on the Autonomy of the S.E.D. 138 VII Education in the Highlands 187 VIII Scottish Education in the Context of the First World War 244 DC Education in Scotland 1919-1929: Creation of a New Structure 327 Conclusion: Education and Politics in Scotland in Perspective 349 Appendices 382 Bibliography 384 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS During the preparation of this thesis I have benefited from help and encouragement given by numerous organisations and individuals. I wish to acknowledge the ready and generous assistance which I have received from all of them. As much of the work done is based on manuscript sources, I would like to single out the following: Mr. Alan B. Lawson, Sometime Deputy Director of Education, County of Inverness and, more recently, Archivist of the Highland Region Archives, Inverness. He gave me, at an early stage in my research, constructive and useful information relevant to the whole of the western and northern Highlands. The staff of the Public Record Office, Kew, London, for instructing me in the mysteries of the voluminous Treasury files, and also for managing, most of the time, to locate documents seemingly dwelling in rather obscure boxes. Their occasional failures indicated that some documents had either been destroyed or lost. The staff of the Scottish Record Office, West Register House, Edinburgh, for their prompt and efficient service over a period of years. In particular my thanks go to Mr. George P. Mackenzie, Registrar, National Register of Archives (Scotland) for obtaining material from the papers of Lord Balfour of Burleigh, and also for allowing access to letters from the archives of Lord Novar, formerly R. Munro Ferguson, which, when consulted, were not generally available for public use. Mr Michael Moss, Archivist, University of Glasgow, for tracing documents in the collection left by Sir Donald MacAlister, formerly Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Glasgow. To Mr. Moss I also owe thanks for an airing of a suspicion that Treasury files in the Public Record Office could contain material relevant to Scottish Education. His suspicions proved to be correct. Mr. R.N. Smart, Keeper of Manuscripts, University of St. Andrews, for granting access to the papers of Sir James Donaldson, Sometime Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of St. Andrews. The Archivist, Strathclyde Region Archives, Glasgow, for locating manuscripts in the Parker Smith collection and in the minutes of the School Boards of Glasgow, Maryhill and Springburn. The Librarians and staff of the National Library of Scotland, the City of Edinburgh Central Library, the Mitchell Library, Glasgow. The Librarians of the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Oxford, especially Miss Margaret Dowling, Statistical Data Librarian, University of Edinburgh, who, on numerous occasions, clarified some of the more obscure points of detail about parliamentary papers that I tended to put before her. Individuals, not necessarily acting within the formal perimeters of any official positions, and who deserve my gratitude, include: Mr T.C. Barker, Secretary, Scottish National War Memorial, for clarifying points about the dead of the first world war; the present Lord Balfour of Burleigh for the loan of letters from the papers of his grandfather; Miss E.H. Bolitho, for lending documents from the papers of her great-uncle, the Rt. Hon. T.R. Buchanan, M.P.; Dr. Hugh Boyd, for the loan of an autobiographical manuscript written by his father, Dr. William Boyd, formerly Reader in Education, University of Glasgow; Dr Ian Campbell, Department of English, University of Edinburgh, for information about source material on kailyard writing; Mr. D. A. Macdonald, School of Scottish Studies, University of Edinburgh, for directing my attention to source material in Gaelic; finally, to Dr. Donald A.M. Meek, Department of Celtic, University of Edinburgh, who, for a number of years, has answered many a query about the place of Gaelic in Scottish schools as well as discussing more general matters relevant to the whole field of Celtic languages. Preparation of the text in its final, submitted form has been carried out with a high degree of calm professionalism and efficiency by Ann Ward. She has typed the bulk of the thesis and given valuable advice on essential matters related to presentation. I am equally grateful to Linda Morris for stepping into the breach at short notice and, with commendable efficiency, dealing among other things with the typing of the summary of the thesis, the ninth chapter, and the bibliography. The final acknowledgements belong to my two supervisors, Dr Walter M. Humes and Mr Hamish M. Paterson, both of the Department of Education, University of Glasgow. Mr Paterson took over during Dr Humes' leave of absence, giving me constructive, critical and useful advice on drafts of chapters which I submitted to him. Moreover, although no longer acting as a formal supervisor, he has continued to take an active interest in the progress of the work and to discuss any matters connected with it. The greater part of the supervision, however, has been in the hands of Dr. Humes. To him I owe my initial thanks for accepting me as one of his postgraduate students. Thereafter, at all stages, his constant encouragement has been a crucial factor in the preparation and writing of the whole work. Both in matters of detail and planning, and in directing me towards wider perspectives, his help has been essential. He has read most of the manuscript and given detailed, creative criticism. Throughout, he has shown a marked degree of patience and restraint when confronted by my numerous obsessions. Without his assistance, I doubt if the thesis could have been completed. v Illustrations Between pages 250 and 251 Fig. 1 Your Country's Call Fig. 2 Women of Britain Say - "Go!" Between pages 252 and 253 Fig. 3 John Cornwell V.C on H.M.S. Chester by Frank O. Salisbury Fig. 4 The Doctor by C.R.W. Nevinson vi Tab les Between pages 51-52 Chapter III Table 1 Schools attended by Members of Parliament Table 2 Universities attended by Members of Parliament Table 3 Careers and Occupations of Members of Parliament Between pages 63-64 Chapter IV The Pattern of Voting in Edinburgh School Board Elections 1873-1909 Between pages 191-192 Chapter VII Table 1 Results of School Board Elections in Selected Areas 1900-1909 Between pages 210-211 Table 2 Scheme for Regulating the Distribution of Intermediate Bursaries during the Session 1908-1909 Table 3 Scheme for Regulating the Distribution of Intermediate Bursaries 1918-1919 Abbreviations E.I.S. Educational Institute ofScotland H.C. House of Commons H.L. House of Lords H.M.C.I. Her/His Majesty’s Chief Inspector H.M.I. Her/His Majesty's Inspector H.R.A. Highland Region Archives I.L.P. Independent Labour Party K. & L.T.R. King's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer Pari. Deb. Parliamentary Debates P.G.A. Public General Acts P.P. Parliamentary Papers P.R.O. Public Record Office R.C.C.E.S. Report of the Committee of Council on Education in Scotland S.E.D. Scotch (post 1918 Scottish) Education Department Sess. Cas. Court of Session Cases S.E.R.C. Scottish Education Reform Committee S.R.O. Scottish Record Office S.T.U.C. Scottish Trades Union Congress SUMMARY OF THESIS At the start of the twentieth century Scotland had a nation-wide network of publicly-controlled schools. Although these schools were managed locally, generally by elected boards, the educational system itself lay under the direction of central government, with authority exercised through the Committee of the Privy Council and the Scotch (later Scottish) Education Department (S.E.D.).