The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-08-30 00:00:00

ment commissioners and the priests of the Roman Ca-
tholic Church in Ireland. He next adverted to the
attempts recently made by the Roman Catholic Bishops
to exclude from the Government schools a class book on the
Evidences of Christianity, which had been drawn up by
Dr. Whately, Archbishop of Dublin, and to the subsequent
withdrawal of that book from the schools by an order
from the Government Commissioners and he showed from
this fact that there was every _ disposition on the part of

le existing Governm

Romish priests in matters affecting the education of the
youth of Ireland. The honourable gentleman next com-
plained that the Protestants of Ireland were debarred from
those advantages, with regard to a Scriptural education,
which the Protestants of England enjoyed ; and he illus-
trated this by showing that Government grants were made
in England to the Church of England, Wesleyan, and
Dissenting schools, in which the Bible was read ; but that
Government would not allow the Church Education So-
ciety for Ireland any grants, simply because they
adhered to the rule of every true Protestant institution, to
make the bible the most essential book in their schools.
He earnestly called upon the meeting to assist the Church
Education Society for Ireland, under the circumstances in
whichit was placed by the government refusing to make
any grants to the society. The question had been asked
would they not give up something to secure the blessings
of education ? He for one could not be a party to a com-
promise which excluded from education a knowledge of
the Word of God.. He said the Reformation had made
England what it was. by giving her the free Word of God.
(Cheers.) In no place had the Queen more loyal subjects
than the Protestants of Ireland. (Cheers.) Protestan-
tism had, he said, been the means of improving the moral
as well as the physical condition of Ireland. At the con-
clusion of a long and animated address, the right hon.
gentleman moved the adoption of the first resolution, to
the effect that education should be founded on the Scrip-
tures, and the society could not countenance any system
of education from which the Bible was excluded, _

The Rev. G. SIDNEY SMITH, D.D. secondedthe resolution,
and, in doing so, said, that the present was one of the
most interesting meetings which he had attended in con-
nection with the society. He said the deputation con-
sidered
that if they had a favourable opportunity of
laying their case before the people of England, they might
safely calculate on powerful assistance. Recent events
had made it painfully apparent, that what was
termed the united system of education was one which
conscientiously they could not tolerate. The Archbishop
of Dublin had been aroused to denounce the system in
strong language, and it was not a matter to be wondered
at that he should do so, as measures had been resolved on
at the National Board which constrained him to withdraw
from any participation in theii proceedings. The people
of Ireland were not, he said, averse to scripture education,
although no doubt the Popish priests were. This was
borne out by the fact, that twenty years ago there
were 6,000 Scripture schools in Ireland ; now, under
the Board and its system of united education, there
were only 4,000. The system of united education
was one which could not, he said, be received other-
wise than with suspicion, when it was recollected
that the priests had agreed to accept it, as they said, under
the circumstances. They have used the system to suit
their own ends, and now they declare they will not have it ;
infact they declare,what is true, that there is no such system
in existence. The scriptural element was first banished from
the system, and now it has been found inadequate to convey
even a secular education. It had been truly said by his right
honourable friend that principle was the same in Ireland
as in England, but he had omitted to remark that our
present rulers do not pretend to govern by principle, but
by expediency. The plan of uniting children of different
denominations for the purposes of education would not be
tolerated in England ; and when Sir George Grey
said that the exclusion of religion in education in
Ehgland would be an insult to the earnest religious
feeling of the English people, did he mean to say Ithat
the same omission in Ireland was not also an insult
to the earnest religious feeling of the Irish people ;
or did he mean to intimate that there is no earnest
religious feeling in Ireland ? Such treatment, he main-
tained, was not in accordance with that fair-play which
Englishmen like. (Cheers). All we want, continued he,
is a clear stage and no favour. (Cheers). We want to
plant a Bible School by the side of every National School
in Ireland, and if enabled to do so, it would soon be seen
that the latter would be emptied. Lord Aberdeen had
recently remarked that one of the most commendable
features of the National Schools was that no case of pro-
selytism had. occurred in them (hear, hear). The advo-
cates of the scriptural, system on the other hand, held
that it was an indispensable feature of that system
that it should make proselytes (hear, hear, and loud
cheers). It had already been eloquently remarked, that
nothing is so much dreaded by the popish priesthood as the
Bible —God's word, he said, was the fear and the hatred of
popery. Among certain classes, it had been fashionable
to represent the objects of the society as mischievous and
impracticable. As to the mischief, if successful, the
society would certainly extinguish that extraordinary
instititution, the national board; but there might be
difference of opinion as to the amount of mischief inflicted
by that operation (a laugh). As to its impracticability,
every one was aware that a great gospel movement was in
operation in Ireland, and even the blood-stained fields of
Tipperary furnished satisfactory evidence, in the absence
of crime, of the extent and the benefits of that movement.
The object held in view by the society was to uphold the
honour of the word of God—to maintain its integrity—
and to have it read in our schools. He concluded by
seconding the resolution ; which, having been put from
the chair, was carried unanimously.

The Venerable the ARCIIDEI:CON of WATERFOED
moved the adoption of the second resolution, which alluded
to the inadequacy of the means at the command of the
society, unaided as it is by any parliamentary grant, and
set forth the claims it had upon the friends of scriptural
education. It likewise adverted to the cause of thank-
fulness existing for the success which had attended the
society's exertions. The operations of the society, he said,
were based and dependent on principle, and if its pro-
ceedings did not approve themselves to the consciences,
support could not be expected. It had, he said, been
generally customary to hold up. the proceedings of the
m society as wayward—as flying the face of authority.
The society, he could safely say, was actuated only by a
desire to uphold the honour and integrity of God's Holy
Word. The nature of the compromise which had been
attempted to be carried out by the advocates of the
national system had been sufficiently characterised, and
the extent of its failure had been well described. He
then went over some of the arguments used by those who
pretend to say that the introduction of that system had a
tendency to allay irritation, and subdue bad feeling ; for
his own part, he could scarcely conceive anything more
likely to engender feelings of irritation than an intimation
that God's word was to be the only subject excluded from
consideration. It had been often said that a sound secu-
lar education was one of the best things which could be
given to man. To some extent that might be true ;
secular education was no doubt good, but not that
secular education which, admitting every other sub-
ject, is altogether silent as to the worship of God
and the study of the Bible—(cheers). On exami-
nation, however, it would be found that even secular
education was not imparted under the national system
Good books had undoubtedly been published under the
sanction of the board ; but recent events had proved that
there was no security for those good books continuing to
be used in the schools conducted under the auspices of
the board. He read long extracts from the 18th re-
port on the state of education in Ireland, from which it
appeared that the teachers of those schools, particularly
those in which the priests took much share in the manage-
ment were very negligent in the discharge of their
duties, and giving a fearful picture of the ignorance of
the pupils attending the national schools. He stated,
likewise, as a truth beyond contradiction, that those were
national schools to be met with in nunneries, where all
access and inspection is rigorously denied. He concluded
by an eloquent appeal to the generosity of the people of
England for support to the society in its arduous and im-
portant struggle.
The Rey. JAMES SMITH, Rector of Strabane, seconded
the resolution, and, in doing so, said that if one lesson more
than any other had been inculcated by the struggles of Ireland,
it had been that we should withdraw our dependence from
man, and place it on the strength of Him who is the same
yesterday, to-day, and for ever. He went on to show that,
by a derelection of principle, the society might easily be
made participators in the funds under the controul of the
national board, who would receive them with open arms.
But, he said, the clergy of Ireland were actuated by higher
motives. He next adverted to the mistaken views which
had been inculcated by those who advocated concessions
to Popery, and gave as illustrations the entire failure of
those predictions of peace and good fellowship which had
been made by the supporters of emancipation, in 1829,
and of the permanency of the Maynooth grant, in 1849 ;
.the latter a measure, he said, which, in the words of its
author, the late. Sir Robert Peel, had been carried in the
face of a reclaiming people.
The resolution was put from the chair, and unani-
mously carried.
The Rev. *Dr. MaSTEILE, on rising, was:received with
loudly expressed applause. After a graceful allusion to
the lateness of the hour, he said he should not detain the
meeting with a lengthened address. He could not, how-
ever, forbear from saying that he looked on the present as
a peculiarly favourable occasion on which some practical
suggestion for improving the position of the scriptural
education in question. He remarked that it was a subject
worthy of the character and antecedents of the chairman
—of the dignity of his position as a member of parliament
—of his honour as one of the members for Liverpool—
(tremendous cheering) and worthy of his sagacity to en-
deavour to suggest some practical measure on the subject,
which all of them could follow—(loud cheers). In con-
clusion, he proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Horsfall, for
his kindness in attending the meeting, and presiding.—
(Great cheering.)
The Rev. F. BARKER seconded the motion, which was
carried by acclamation.
Mr. HORSFALL, in acknowledging the compliment, ex-
pressed his readiness to follow anything of a practical
nature which might be suggested to him. He reminded
the meeting, however, that the hands of a member of
parliament were much strengthened by petitions, nu-
merously signed: He had, he said, had the honour of
presenting petitions on commercial subjects from Liver-
pool, and he hoped that, next session, he should have one
on the subject of Scriptural education to present. (Great
cheering.) .

The meeting then broke ill
amounted to £l6. 2s.

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