The Sun.
London, England, 1870-03-17 00:00:00

ANNUITY TAX (EDINBURGH) BILL.

The order of the day for the second reading of the bill
was discharged, the bill having been withdrawn.
DUBLIN COLLECTOR-GENERAL OF RATES
FRANCHISE BILL.

On the motion of Mr. Monk the bill was read a second
time.

ADULTERATION OF FOOD BILL.

The second reading of this bill was postponed until the
ith of May.
REGISTRATION OF VOTERS BILL.
This bill was read a second time and referred to a select
3ommittee.

The House then adjourned at ten minutes to six.

The Countess of Leicester is improving in health.

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LONDON 7HURSDAY, MARCH 17, 1870.

WE make no apology for reverting to the great
question now before Parliament and the country,
she greatest question which this generation has seen.
In doing so we must express our deep regret at the
tone assumel by some of the opponents of Mr.
Forster's bill. They are, as we said yesterday,
divisible into two classes, the Secularists pure
and. simple, who wish, and have a right
to do all that they can to exclude religious
teaching from national education, and the Dissenters
who are moved simply by jealousy of the Established
Church. On Tuesday night it was chiefly the latter
class which took part in the debate. Mr. Winter-
botham, who spoke with great eloquence and ability,
spoke also with exceeding bitterness. His speech
throughout was a clever but most reprehen-
sible attempt to arouse the spirit of reli-
gious animosity, -to stir up strife between
Dissenters and Churchmen. Moved by this animosity
the member for Stroud endeavoured to persuade the
House of Commons to postpone the whole question
of education sine die, in order that he and. his con-
genera might stir up the country against the bill,
and light the flames of a religious war. Mr. H. B.
Samuelson, who belongs to the Secularists rather
than to .the Nonconformists, and who agrees with
Mr. Winterbotham in opposing the bill, gave the
best of 'all reasons why the Government should not
consent to this delay. He quoted figures—disas-
trous and disgraceful figures—to show the connec-
tion between crime and ignorance; figures which
are so many terrible witnesses accusing us
of having all these years offered Cain's excuse for
neglecting our brothers. Mr. Miall and Mr. Auberon
Herbert represented Nonconformity and Secularism
respectively ; but while the first admitted that the
bill could be made acceptable to his friends in a
few minutes if a dozen gentlemen were to talk
it over together, and yet will vote against the
bill being read a second time, i.e., will not, if he can
help it, suffer a bill to receive in committee the very
discussion which he declares is all that is needed;
the second, far more Iperically, says that he cannot
vote against the bill although ho wishes to see it
amended.
We think every impartial person will admit that
on Tuesday night the logic was all on one side. Tht
speeches of Sir Roundell Palmer and Mr. Lowe seem
to us irrefutable; and when a journal like the Pal.
Mall Gazette points to the fact that the bill is sup-
ported by the former M.P. as a reason why this in easurt
should be suspected of an undue leaning to ecclesi-
asticism, it should, in fairness, remember that the
measure not only receives the support of so very un-
ecclesiastical a person as the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, but that he is directly responsible
for it. As he pointed out in his closely
reasoned speech immense concessions have been
made by the Church party. They have withdrawn
their opposition to the Conscience Clause, they are
willing to assent to the abolition of denominational
inspection; they are prepared even to lot school
boards decide what religious _teaching shall
be given in any particular school, or
that even none at all, shall be given : in a
word, they are willing not only that Dissenters shall
have the decision where Dissenters are in the majo
rity, and that a distinctive anti-Church teaching
shall be given if these should so wish it; but
also, that if the Secularists are in a majority,
no religious teaching at all shall be given.
But latet anguis in herld, Mr. Herbert thinks.
During thirty years the Church of England has
received six millions of public money for educational
purposes, while the denominations have received only
two millions. Whose fault is that ? Let it be remem-
bered that hitherto grants have been given only in
proportion to subscriptions, and if Churchmen have
receivied more money, they have given more.
However, this iisprorortion is not likely to
occur again. For several years after the esta-
blishment of our imperfect Education Depart-
ment Dissenters would have nothing to do with
it. In fact it is only comparatively recently that
many of the denominations have overcome the
scruples which they felt with regard to the receipt of
Government money. Any way it would be the height
of impracticable folly, as well as the basest ingratitude,
if all these efforts and all this liberality on the part of
Churchmen were to be treated as of no account.
Even Mr. Lowe who, when he filled Mr. Forster's
present post, was constantly at war with the clergy,
declares, while admitting that the Government ought
to have undertaken education originally, "I rejoice
to say that this measure is framed in a spirit of grati-
tude and fairness towards those persons, and that
instead of committing the unpardonable rashness of
sweeping away the present state of things, this bill
accepts all that has been done hitherto and comes
out only to supplement the present system. It would
be the wildest rashness for the sake of any theoretical

perfection, any imaginary necessity of emancipating
education at once from the denominational system,
to destroy that which has taken the labour of
twenty-four years to bring to perfection."
Finally, there is Sir Roundell Palmer's argument.
It is useless to attempt to force upon the country, a
system which the country is not preparel
to adopt willingly. The pre s 3nt bill Per-
mits the country to establish secular schools
if it wishes, but the opponents of the bill believe

that this permission will not be used; in other
words, that the great majority of the people of Eng-

land wish to have schools in which there shall be
religious teaching. If this be a fact, and we believe
it to be, then we say with the member for Rich-
mond, " Talk of raising local rates over the country
for a compuls9ry system of education, such as is not
founded on the wants and does not commend itself

to the feelings and approbation of the people 1
Is it not perfectly plain that the country would be
thrown into a flame by it, and that the system thus
attempted would utterly break down ?" In truth
the question now raised is a very large and a very
small one. It is very small so far as it is a question
between Nonconformists and Churchmen. Children
3f twelve and fourteen are delightfully insusceptible
to dogmatic teaching, and when we see all
this anxiety on the part -of Dissenters

.est the child •E John Hodge' should be taught

baptismal regeneration and the apostolic succession,

we say with Mr. Lover that this religious dispute is
"a sight piteous to see ; that it is as if a fine herd of
cattle in a large meadow, having an abundance of
fine pasture all around them, were to abandon it and
fight for a bed of nettles." On the other hand there
is a very large question, as between the supporters of
the bill and the Secularists. These would banish
religious teaching from the schools altogether, wouli
leave it entirely to the clerical body on Sundays. It
is to US a sight most strange and most grievous that
_ .

any Nonconformists Should be found to join with
these in raising the cry " No Scriptures."

THE Conservative members of the Lower House

have met together and agreed upon a series of
amendments to the Land Bill. The Standard is
good enough to state that " there is no desire on
the part of the Opposition to defeat the Jill
by altering it to such an extent, and in oucfAa