The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-06-21 00:00:00

LORD SALISBURY ON EDUCATION.

Lord Salisbury attended an influential meeting held
in the Town Hall, Ilitchin, on Monday, for the pur-
pose of advocating the claims of the Herta Diocesan
Board of Education upon the friends of religious in-
struction in elementary schools.
In the course of his remarks, his lordship said : The
tank which lien before us in in truth a simple one, and it
Is so plain that it will readily commend itself to every
mind. The Government under the new regulation,
takes care of reading, writing, and arithmetic,
and takes good care that the sgheolmanters and
rilistrewes «hall devote their energies to those matters.
The question before you, therefore, is how are
you to take care of the religious teaching. You
have no doubt all heard of the proverb of the ship
and the pennyworth of tar. Well, this is the penny.
worth of tar which is to prevent our ship of education
from sinking. We have all made great exertions in
this matter. We have tried to influence Government
to prevent any le,:inlatiou hostile to us. We have
• done our hest through nuhsetiptions to keep up the
means for religious education throughout the country ;
but it would be a pitiable thing to find that we
have merely ywovided schools in which the monsters
are t«mpteil to neglect religions teaching, school;
which would become entirely secular schools, and
that we hail wasted all our trouble in playing into
our adversaries' hand.. That in the danger which
threatens nei unless we induce the schoolmasters to ,
give a proper share of their attention to religious educa•
tion. I hope no one will be inclined to listen to that
delusive advice which is often proffered by well-mean-
ing, or at least well,poken, cotmeellors, who try to
represent to um that religious education in schools is so
much trouble thrown away, by taking out of the hands ,
of the clergy that duty which they ought to perform.
To that observed:Ai there is one plain and
answer, anl I gather it from the attitnde of the great
section a thought in r. ferehcs to religion throughout
the world. In this country and on the Continent a
great struggle in going on between belief and unbelief. I
Wherever Christianity in preached, there slim an effort
to depreciate and dimp,ragia it exists. It exists to some
extent in this country, hut to a mneh greater extentin
other c .nntries. This party in powerful, active, and ,
numerous, aiel it is a striking feet that the one
watchword npm which they all agree, the ens
object for which they are ell trying„ is to
npatt our Chad-Can:religion. To them every institu-
tion of religion is hateful, and theme thing which they I
are trying to aceomplich in secular odu °thin as opposed
to religious educatioe. It might be thought that the
religieun party were misled by their over zeal, and on
attrihuie Ito r eliginui win •ali in a arsine which it do, a
not trove.. ; but when you se : that wide- every effint
nf r•ligionn men is directid to the inatiltenance of
religious teaching in schools, on the other bend, those
to whom religions t«aching is detectable are tryirg to
drive such instrnetien out of the a:hooia, you will agree
with me that this is a central position which it in our
object to preserve. (Cheers.)