Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-08-01
a BATTLE FOR LIBERTY.

IL the British government carries out
It's threat to institute criminal proceed
ings against the leaders Of the so-called
passive resistance" movement, there
Is sure to be trouble, For those en-
gagged in this crusade are doing so on
conscientious grounds, and they are
supported BY very strong sentiment,
as was proved when a quarter Of mill
lion people gathered In Hyde park and
choered the speakers who represented
non-conformists.
The passive resistance" movement
Is protest against the education bill
Of 1902, According to writer in the
outlook, the non-conformlsts look upon
this bill as an attempt to levy a church
rate under the gulse OF an education
rate, The schools Of the Church Of
England are to be partially supported
by disseuters and yet remain under
denomlnational management, TO this
they object. They demand that II the
schools are to be supported by COM
mon funds, they must cease TO be sec
tartan, This self-eyident truth should
need no argument The writer In the
outlook says in part,
American readers should understand
that In eight thousand parishes In Eng
land and Wales there Is only one pub
lie elementary school available In each
parish, and that that school s under
Church Of England auspices, and that
all children In the parish are by law
compelled TO attend H. The non-con.
t0rmist therefore asserts that the new
educaiiOn-rate Is worse than the old
church-rate The old churCh-rate Went
TO keep up the parish church, but at
least the non-conformist was not COM
PEELED TO attend the parish church. The
new educatlon- goes TO support a
sectarian school, and non-conformlst
children are compelled 10 attend this
school. To understand the intensity Of
the tree-church opposition to this new
system, something must be known OF
the social and religious conditions
which prevail today In many parts OF
England. The power OF the estab-
lished church In thousands OF parishes
Is almost absolute The squire Of the
parish, who probably owns most OF the
land, expects his tenants 10 be loyal
to the Church OF England, and multi
tudes OF laborers and small shopkeepers
are given to understand that their very
livelihood depends on their conformity
20 the will Of the squire and the par
son. The latter Is very usually now
adays, what Is known as high church.
The old Dricstly notion Of the ministry
has been revived with great success.
He repudlates the name Protestant. He
regards the non-cOnformist as a
schlsmatic and a hereto, and the chill
dren OF non-conformists as proper sub
iects for his priestly influence. Even
the Pilot which is an Anglican weekly
paper Of conspicuous moderation and
great Influence due TO its statesman
Ike opinionsdeclares that II the Church
Of England Is to be re-Protestantized
ten thousand clergymen must be turned
out These men are Interested in the
movement for reunion with Rome, and
their teaching is hardly distingushable
from that Of Rome. The schools which
these men manage are the most yaIu-
able fundamentally they possess for
proselytlzlng young England. Backed
up, therefore, by The social influence of
the squIrearchy, they are able to make
the position Of the independent nom
conformist almost intolerable."
That explains fully why the non-con-
formists are up in arms and determ-
ined to suffer persecution, rather than
submit to the unjust requirements OF
the law. Probably they win win in
the end, by that passive resistance"
which Is 80 potent, lt all depends on
whether the spirit that prompts the OPP
preesive enactment Is strong enough TO
keep up the fame OF persecution O uf-
hciently long time. AZ all events.
battle IL on, on the soil Of Great Brit
ain, where so many conflicts have been
fought successfully ia the past for the
principles OF human liberty The out
come will again be watched by the
world, with much interest