The Express.
London, England, 1847-12-11 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, SATURDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 11, 1847.

the noble lord on having in the new parliament the assistance
tench men u the metropolitan members, of whom there
was not one who was not pledged to the repeal of this odious
tax. Any unitary bill which did not secure a repeal of the
window duties, situ, to use the expressive w,-rile of Lord
Demean on a certain occasion, " a delusion, a mockery, and
a snare." Mr. °win concluded by moving, " Th►t at the
adjourned meeting of the conference the whole of the metro-
politest member* of parliament be summoned to attend."
Mr. H. C. Wixsov, in seconding the resolution (which
was carried), observed that he h►d no doubt of the probabi-
lity of a re-arrangement of the whole fiscal system of the
country. If so, he hoped that In the repeal of the window-
tax they would content to no compromise.
Mr. SODEN moved, " That it is the opinion of this meeting
that no measure of sanitary reform con be effective or use.
ful unless accompanied by a repeal of the most obnoxious and
unhealthy impost, the window duties."
The resolution was carried, and, after a vote of thinks to
Lord Duncan and the Clubman, the conference adjourned.

THE CLERGY AND THE GOVERNMENT
EDUCATION SCHEME.
An official correspondence has taken place between
the secretary of the Council on Education and certain mem-
bers of the clergy, from which we select the following .
Committee or Council on Education,
Council °tee, Whitehall, .ov. 24, 1817.
Very reverend Sir,—l have submitted to the Lord Presi-
dent of the Council your letter, dated Nov. 17, in which, as
chairman of a corneal tee appointed by the Lichfield Diocesan
Board (to inquire into the meaning and application of the
mthute of the Committee of Council, relative to the manage-
ment clauses of school deeds), you ask, whether " the pro-
moters of education throughout the country have the earns
liberty of choice as to the constitution of their schools as
has been hitherto emeeded to them, both by the Committee
of Council sad by the National Society."
In answer to this question, I am directed to inform you,
that though the mmute of the Committee of Council is
dated June 2e, 1847, the administration of their lordships,
In relation to school deeds, as described in that minute, bas
undergone no material practical change during the last two
years and a half. You will find the circumstances in which
the practice of this office originated described in the letter
address. d to thy Bridol Deanery Board, dated Oct. 6,
1847, a copy of which I enclose fur your information. The
facts related in this letter appeared to their lordships to
require their interference to InCLU3 the legal estate of paro-
chial schools from the consequences of local mismanage.
meat. The Committee of Council have not, either recently
or for some years past, accepted the choice of the local pro-
moters of national schools as in all respects determining the
constitution of these schools; on the contrary, their lordship.
have required, as a condition of their grants, not only secu-
rity for the legal estate, but that the terms of union with
the National Society should form the bares of the constitution
of scboolsconnected with that society.
Their lordships have accordingly embodi.d these terms of
union in certain management clauses, which are set forth in
their minute of June 28, 1847, and have declared, in that
minute, that they regard those cleans as essential for the
constitution of church of England schools connected with
that society. Accordingly, in parishes inwhich there were
literate and respectable laymen who were bowl fide members
of the church of England, and who, by their subscriptions
and exertions, had testified their zeal for the education of
the poor, my lords have felt it to be their duty to require :
that certain of these lay parishioners should, in strict ac-
cordance
with the terms of union with the Naaanal Such ty,
be associated with the clergyman, in the management of
the school.
Their lordships have provided for the superintendence of
the religious instruction by the parochial clergyman, and for I
the settlement of any question r. lathe to such religious
instruction by an appeal to the diocesan, whose decision is
to be final. The clargyman is ex officio chairman of the
board of managers, and has a casting vote, and he may also
appoint his curate or curates members of the board. Due
provision is therefore nude for his occupying a position of
dignity and influence in the general management of the
school, while the arrangements for the election of the com-
mittee confirm that influence, and afford him security against
factious opposition.
Their lordship have listened with attention to the sag.
gestions of the local promoters of schools upon all questions
relative to the adaptation of any particular clause to the
circumstances of a parish; and, wherever they could do so
without the violation of some thadamental principle, they
have been disposed to concur with such suggestions.
The enclosed copy of a letter to the Bishop of Ripon on this
subject will explain to you the course which their lordshipa
have adopted in large towns and populous districts.
From this account you will readily infer what bas been
the course of administration in purely rural districts. In
these eases, however, in which the local promoters of schools
connected with the National Society have proposed a depar-
ture from the obvious meaning and intention of the terms of
union with that society, their lordships have felt it to be
their duty to maintain the principles involved in those terms
of union.
In the early period of their administration, before the
necessity for such interference had become apparent, clauses
of the most various mid questionable chance r had been in-
serted in school deeds, forcibly illustrating the fact, that the
discretion of the local managers cannot ee accepted is the
stead of general rules.
As examples, I may enumerate arrangements by which
the parochial character of the school was unneceswily de-
parted from : the management being confided to clergyman
of several surrounding parishes and their successors, or even,
though rarely, to the trustees of the church, though resident!
in didbient and remote parts of England, or to the patron
of the benefice, even when the patronage was vested in a
non-resident corporation; or, in rarer cases, to municipal or
other officers, without any other provision as to their qualifi-
cation ; or power was given to some person or persona to
appoint managers without any definition of their qualifies•
twos; or • school erected in one ecclesiastical district has
been under the superintendence of a clergyman in another
ecclesiastical district, who has resisted all interference with
management by the parochial minister.
In other cases, though the constitution was parochial, no
laymen (whatever might be their zeal, sacrifices, or exertions)
were admissible to the management, which was vested exclu-
sively in the clergyman. It is scarcely necessary to remark,
that, except where no literate and respectable lay sub-
scribers to the school are resident in the parish, such a con-
! atitution is not adapted either to conciliate general opinion,
lor meet the views of parliament in making provision
towards the support of parochial echooto out of public fonds.
The general adoption of such a constitution appeared to the&
lordships to be likely to awaken the jealousy of the laity, as
to the application of adequate funds from the public rea
sources to the support of institutions, from the management
of which they were to be excluded. When, however, is any
Parish there are no literate and respectable lay subscribers to
the school, who are bond fide members of the church of Rag-
land, their lordships have, by clause C, provided that the
management of the school shall devolve on the clergyman
alone, until the bishop shall direct that a committee of the
subscribers be appointed.
In other cases, it was proposed to their lordships to substi-
tute for the rule of the National Society, wLich enables any
member of the committee of management to submit ear
question relative to the religious instruction to the dicomea,
another isle, enabling any single member of the committee
to bring under the consideration of the diocesan any question
whatever relative to the management of the school, and ,
giving the diocesan power, on the appeal of this single mem-
I
o ber, to sat aside any decision of the committee, even :
I though it should have been adopted by every member ex-
1 cept the appellant Their lordship were of opinion that 1
there is no precedent in English institutions for so complete I
a subjection of a body of local manages to any central I
authority.
The definition of the qualification of the electors and
!managers has been the subject of another suggestion, dif-
fering from the terms of union with the National Society. I
It has been proposed to substitute for the words " Members
of the Church of England" used in the terms of union with
the National Society, the qualification, "Communicants of
the Church of England," or the words " who shall have
eimununicated three times at the least in the then currant
year in the parish church."
Hespereitig these suggestions, their lordship; have to re-
Meth thee they were seldom or never made until within the
Ire ysr and a half. In almost all earlier deeds the term
n.hl of the Church of England" was inserted as eon-
relying a sufficient description of the qualification of the
Amor and manager. To the use of the term " communi-
cant" (even when its want of a definite legal signification is
in some degree removed by a specification of the times when,
and the place where, the elector or manager is to communi-
cate)
their lordships have entertained the grave objection
that this word appears to revive the risk that the Holy Se.
crament would be subject to desecration by those who had
no better motive for partaking it than that of qualifying
themselves for an office.
But as it is their lordships' wish and intention that the
' managers of church of England schools should be bole=
I members of that church, they would be peepeed le
' any other description of the qualificetiesseneheel manasees,
which would insure this result, and which was not open le
, graver objections than thou which it removed.
But, if the discretion of the local managers were to be ae.
oepted as an absolute means of determining the °multitudes
of parochial schools, instances could be found in the earlier
I
deeds (for which their lordships are only responsible, in as
far as they had not then conceived it to be their duty to is
terfere), in which all precautions as to the qualifications at
' the managers were neglected, and in which, emmereeeetly,
schools erected by the funds of menthes et the .heath et
England have pared into the el peons "be
will allow of no instruction heat the .
There is no example, so hr ea their In
of any echool in which they have interlined la
the adoption of clauses, resembling thaw addend in their
minute of June 28 1847, in which suth mosivashom bens
ensued. While, tkerefore, my lords esneida. It to be lisle
duty, as it has always been their prudes, to listen Ida
attention to the suggestion, of tits keel nmegeeti ma W'
endeavour to concur with them is the stsailieldies el the
clause* aet forth in their minute of JINN Ugh 1....... ams ii
inform you that as these clauses embeargrams
principles ?roes which they are unwifibee legal eery
cannot accept the dime:cation of the local media tutedwels, '
as an absolute role determining, in such matlews, their ell
ministration, respecting the constitution to be admitted k
the deeds oenational schools.
Their lordship observe, that • min:oomph:in previa,
that their administrativeprocedure relative to school deeds,
now embodied in the minutes of June 28, 1847, is a recent
condition of their grants, adopted in violation of some sup-
compact, compact, that the inspection of schools, as regulated
by the order in ceuacil of August 10, 11340, wss to be the
only condition on which grants of public money would be
made in aid of the erection and maintenance of parochial
schools.
That this is a misconception will be apprent to yam,
from the fact, that during the whole period of their lord-
shipe' administration of the public grants, the terms of union