Naturally， under this prohibitive régime， private establishments are born with difficulty； and afterwards， absorbed， mutilated and strangled， they find no less difficulty in keeping alive and thus degenerate， decline and succumb one by one. And yet， in 1815， not counting the 41 small seminaries with their 5000 scholars， there still remained 1，225 private schools， with 39，000 scholars， confronting the 36 lycées and 368 communal colleges which， together， had only 37，000scholars. Of these 1，255 private schools there are only 825 in 1854， 622 in 1865， 494 in 1876， and， finally， in 1887， 302 with 20，174scholars； on the other hand， the State establishments have 89，000schools， and those of the Church amount to 73，000. It is only after 1850 that the decadence of secular and private institutions is precipitated； in effect， instead of one competitor， they have two， the second as formidable as the first one， both enjoying unlimited credit， possessors of immense capital and determined to spend money without calculation， the State， on one side abstracting millions from the pockets of the taxpayers and， on the other side， the Church deriving its millions from the purses of the faithful： the struggle between isolated individuals and these two great organized powers who give instruction at a discount or gratis is too unequal.[41]
Such is the actual and final effect of the first Napoleonic monopoly：
the enterprise of the State has， by a counter-stroke， incited the enterprise of the clergy； both now complete the ruin of the others， private， different in kind and independent， which， supported wholly by family approbation， have no other object in view than to render families content. On the contrary， along with this purpose， the two survivors have another object， each its own， a superior and doctrinal object， due to its own particular interest and antagonism to the opposite interest； it is in view of this object， in view of a political or religious purpose， that each in its own domicile directs education and instruction like Napoleon， each inculcates on， or insinuates into， young minds its social and moral opinions which are clear-cut and become cutting. Now， the majority of parents， who prefer peace to war， desire that their children should entertain moderate and not bellicose opinions. They would like to see them respectful and intelligent， and nothing more. But neither of the two rival institutions thus limits itself； each works beyond and aside，[42] and when the father， at the end of July，[43] goes for his son at the ecclesiastical college or secular institution， he risks finding in the young man of seventeen the militant prejudices， the hasty and violent conclusions and the uncompromising rigidity of either a "la？cisant" or a "clérical."III. Internal VicesThe internal vices of the system. - Barrack or convent discipline of the boarding-school. - Number and proportions of scholars in State and Church establishments. - Starting point of the French boarding-school.
- The school community viewed not as a distinct organ of the State but as a mechanism wielded by the State. - Effects of these two conceptions. - Why the boarding-school entered into and strengthened ecclesiastical establishments. - Effects of the boarding-school on the young man. - Gaps in his experience， errors of judgment， no education of his will. - The evil aggravated by the French system of special and higher schools.
Meanwhile， the innate vices of the primitive system have lasted and， and， among others， the worst of all， the internat[44] under the discipline of barracks or convent， while the university， through its priority and supremacy， in contact with or contiguously， has communicated this discipline at first to its subordinates， and afterward to its rivals. - In 1887，[45] in the State lycées and colleges， there are more than 39，000 boarding-schools (internes)while， in the ecclesiastic establishments， it is worse： out of 50，000pupils there， over 27，000 are internes， to which must be added the 23，000 pupils of the small seminaries， properly so called， nearly all of them boarders； in a total of 163，000 pupils we find 89，000internes.[46] Thus， to secure secondary instruction， more than one-half of the youth of France undergo the internat， ecclesiastic or secular. This is peculiar to France， and is due to the way in which Napoleon， in 1806， seized on and perverted all school enterprises.[47]
Before 1789， in France， this enterprise， although largely trammeled and impeded by the State and the Church， was not violated in principle nor perverted in essence； still at the present day， in Germany， in England， in the United States， it exists and is developed in accordance with its nature. It is admitted to be a private enterprise，[48] the collective and spontaneous work of several associates voluntarily bound together， old founders， actual and future benefactors， masters and parents and even scholars，[49] each in his place and function， under a statute and according to tradition， in such a way as to continue functioning indefinitely， in order to provide， like a gas company on its own responsibility， at its own risk and expense， a provider of services for those who want it； in other terms， the school enterprise must， like any other undertaking， render acceptable what it offers thereby satisfying the needs of its clients.
- Naturally， it adapts itself to these needs； its directors and those concerned do what is necessary. With hands free， and grouped around an important interest evidently for a common purpose， mutually bound and veritable associates not only legally but in feeling， devoted to a local enterprise and local residents for many years， often even for life， they strive not to offend the profound repugnance of the young and of families. They therefore make the necessary arrangements internally and with the parents.[50]
