The Sun.
London, England, 1870-04-11 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, APRIL 11, 1870.

r the rising generation to infer that the highest con-
sideration of all is a mere trifle, which may or may
not receive attention, just as inclination may direct.
Mr. Hughes stood up to deny what is very commonly
supposed to be the raison d'etre of the League.
The majority of that body, he said, were not
advocates of secular training. Nothing could be
more mischievous, in the opinion of Mr. Hughes,
than to separate religion from school work. All of
which is perfectly sound; but with regard to the
League and its principles, Mr. Hughes only demon-
strates that there are two Leagues ; for that a
considerable body of eminent men have alarmed the
country by a cry for the entire banishment of
religious teaching from schools, is unquestionable.
Mr. Mill has just been at special pains to declare
that his ideal of a national system of education is
one from which the Bible and every species of reli-
gious instruction shall be rigidly excluded.
This is the common danger, which, as the Marquis
of Salisbury put it, had brought together men of
such widely divergent faith. They felt there
was no neutrality in the matter. Religion must be
either taught or opposed. " After school hours"
means indifferentism and neglect. This is simply
the position, and it recommends itself so forcibly to
the bulk of the nation that the danger would
be almost nil, were it not that in an
evil hour certain sections of Nonconformists have
allied themselves with the philosophers against reli-
gious teaching. These sections are not the most
numerous nor the most influential ; it is pro-
bable, in fact, that the fear of weakness under the
denominational system has led them to join the
Secularists; but however this maybe, it is certain that
these accessions have given the anti-denominational
movement a character which does not really belong to
it. It is made to look like a struggle on behalf
of religious equality and liberty—albeit the reductio
ad absurdum of a religious equality which can
be attained only by proscribing all reli-
gion is palpable. But such is the nature
of the alliance which has produced that League
which Mr. Hughes does not belong; and it is this
alliance which calls for special watchfulness and
activity on the part of the majority who uphold the
opposite doctrine.

HEALTH OF THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON.
The statements respecting the health of the Emperor
are very various. It is certain that the Bourse was
severely frightened, but some of the semi-official papers
denied that his Majesty was indisposed. The
story was that in the afternoon of Friday ho
had had a fainting fit ; by ten o'clock he
had broken his leg, and an hour later the rumour was that
he could not survive the night. The telegraph offices
were inundated with senders of dispatches. There was talk of
death rattles, syncope and other alarming and final events.
From private sources the correspondent of the Pall
Mall Gazette learns that his Majesty sprained himself while
trying to mount his horse, and felt so faint afterwards
that the review he was about to hold had to be counter-
manded. The review was held on Friday, and the Em-
peror was present, looking as if nothing had happened,
and afterwards went to the horse and dog show in the
Champs Elyges.

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DER MAJESTY.

WINDSOR CASTLE, April 10.

hier Majesty and the Royal Family and the Ladies
and Gentlemen in Waiting attended Divine service
in the private chapel.

The Prince and Princess of Wales attended Divine
service at the Chapel Royal, St. James's, yesterday.