The Sun.
London, England, 1869-11-05 00:00:00

NATIONAL EDUCATION UNION.

A Congress of great interest and importance has been
held in the Town Hall, Manchester, under the auspices of
the National Education Union. The object of the associa-
tion is " to secure the primary education of every child by
judiciously supplementing the present denominational sys-
tem of education." A number of clergymen,both Protestant
and Catholic attended and many prominent friends of
education were present including Lord Robert Montagu,
M.P., and the Right Hon. W. Cowper, M.P., both formerly
vice-presidents of the committee of Council. Noncon-
formists were also represented, the general object being to
secure the harmonious action of men of different forms
of faith and politics, who agree in disapproving of

the establishment of a secular system of national

education, This association is established in opposition
to the Birmingham League, which advccated the total
severance of religion and popular instruction ; and it is

stated in the report that many of its members would wil-
lingly have left the matter in the hands of the
Government, but after the formation of a powerful
association bent upon impressing its views on the
public mind, it was thought desirable that the opinion of
the defenders as well as the opponents of the present sys-
tem should be widely promulgated. The union does not
intend to frame a bill, nor does it insist on points of
detail ; it desires " merely to lay clown a basis on which
they, who have hitherto borne the burden of educa-

tion, are willing to co-operate with Government for
the completion of their great work, and to provide
for the primary instruction of all children without
exception; and yet in a manner not to relieve the parent
of his responsibility, nor to degrade the independent work-

ing man to the condition of a pauper in receipt of paro-

- .
chial relief." A large number of letters promising
general support were read, including letters from the
Marquis of Salisbury, Lord Stanley, Lord Carnarvon, Sir
John Pakington, Sir Stafford Northcote, Mr. Baines, Mr.
Muntz, and Mr. S. Morley. Mr. Baines thought
the plan of the Union "the best considered and most
unexceptionable that has been published." Mr. Muntz
declined the office of vice-president on account of
his connection with the National Education League, but
he agreed "in most of the suggestions offered by the
Union." Six J. Pakington approved of the scheme, but
wished to keep himself unfettered for the consideration
of the Government measure.

The Earl of HARROWDY, who presided, said that a con-
siderable movement had taken place in Birmingham on one
of the most vital interests of the country, but that many
residents in that neighbourhood thought the grounds on
which it rested were unsafe. They organised themselves
in consequence to shew that Birmingham itself was
not unanimous in that movement, and as pre-
sident of that meeting he had been asked to preside at
this congress, which had the same objects in view. The
question was, "Are you to have the education of the country
without religion ? " He thought that many of the statis-
tics received exaggerated the evil which undoubtedly
existed. "Those who proposed the new scheme contended
for free schools—no payments exacted from the parents,
the schools maintained by rates, and schools conducted on
what they called unsectarian principles. Of course,-these
were just other words for the exclusion of religion. Now,
the Union objected to all these grounds. They said free
schools were not valued by the parents nor by the children.
They appealed to the evidence of America in their favour
on that point. Then they held it was not fair to charge
upon the rate of particular localities those burdens which
ought to be borne by the imperial funds. They held it
was not fair to impose this burden merely upon realised
property, instead of upon that much larger extent of pro •
perty which existed in personalty. They held further
—and this was the greatest of all objections—
that under the plausible name of unsectarian, it was
practically proposed that no religion should be taught in
public schools. In conclusion, Lord Harrowby said we were
a great deal too stingy
in
only 3,000,000 of peo-",e,
spentilie mmaotrteeru,pfoonr
education,Holland
thanwit h
we did from PuP:ie funds.
The GEN:-.HAL SECRETARY (the Rev. W. Stanyer) said
he hail received thousands of letters, expressing sympathy
filth the movement, and also a cheque of twenty guineas
from the Society of Arts, two of whose members (Mr.
Chadwick and Mr. Foster) attended the Congress. The
Society maintains a strict neutrality with regard to the
programme.

Lord ROBERT MolTrAGr, ALP., contended that the pre-
sent system had not failed, though it needed extension.
Lord EDWARD HOWARD thought the meeting, composed
as it was of gentlemen of all kinds of religions and of
politics, fully Q.nswered the accusation that the friends
of religious education were in favour of education being
narrowed. If theywished to have religious education, any man
must be mad in a country like this, who said "do not let
that teaching be denominational?' The noblelord doubted
whether the compulsory and secular system tried on the
Continent and America had done all that was expected,
and referred to statistics of the operations of the Church
of England, the Wesleyan Dissenters, and the Free Church
of Scotland, to shew the power of voluntary effort.
The Rev. Dr. BARRY, Principal of King's College, London,
declared the secularists had their remedy in their own
hands under the present system by the adoption of the
Conscience Clause. Similar views were brought forward
by other speakers, and the Rev. W. Kennedy, inspector-of
schools, said he saw no reason why the compulsory system
should not he applied in a modified form to denominational
schools, as the child of a Dissenting parent was protectod by
the Conscience Clause. According to the Birmingham League,
our futureschool managers were to be town councillors, but
had they managed the health of towns, the terrible death-
rate, the police, the criminals, the dwellings and habits of
the people so well that we should give them the manage-
ment of our schools as well? Mr. Birley, M.P., said the
problem to be solved by the Union was how to
make education universal without being compulsory,
and religious without infringing on any conscience.
Compulsion was rather an odious term to the English
mind, but he thought we might adopt it to a certain extent
—that we might educate, for instance, the children of the
pauper and of those verging on pauperism, as well as that
class of children who were usually sent to reformatories.

Mr. BUXTON, M.P., thought it was fortunate that two
antagonistic bodies had taken up this great ques-
tion, as the rivalry would stimulate public action,
and excite far more interest than one movement could do.
The Right Hon. W. Cow •ER, M.P., thought it better to
reform the present system than to revolutionise it. If it
became necessary to supplement the funds by contributions
from rates, he did not see why that need affect the existing
organisation of the schools.

The Dean of D URIII7 supported a modified system of
rating, though he wished to keep ignorant ratepayers
out of the management of the schools. A rate must
come, and their business was to minimise the evil which it
might do.

The meeting was afterwards addressed by Canon MEL-
VILLE and others, who warmly supported the Conscience
Clause, and the Congress was adjourned till to-day. •

The case of Junta Maria D'Altoyrac. commonly
called the Countess D'Alteyrac, came before Mr. Commis-
sioner Holroyd at the Court. of Bankruptcy on Thursday,
after a long adjournment. The matter has been before the
court upwards of six months. The Countess is entitled
to an annuity of £1,200 from Lord Willoughby d'Eresby,
and to a further sum of £lOO per month until the annuity is
legally settled and secured. Mr. steed now stated to
the Court that the assignees had been prevented
from taking any steps vith a view to realise the annuity by
the lady's obstinate refusal to disclose her age. He should
now put the question to the lady again, and would give her
a week to reconsider her decision. If she still refused, he
should ask that she be committed for contempt of court.
His Honour was of opinion that tho accounts were sufficient,
and would allow the bankrupt to pass. Aa adjournment
vs 011011 ctAierod t 4) tlio 2.4,1 of Dice r.