The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-18

provide Anglican teaching, and many
of them have refused to pay the local
rates levied for the purpose.
The objection seems reasonable enough
to Americans, who do not tolerate SEC
tartan instruction in their public schools,
and it is recognized as such in the bill now
placed before the House of Commons.
Mr.. BIRRELL's measur begins by trans
ferring the control Of all schools main
tanned at the public expense from county
and city councils back to popularity
elected local school boards. 1t goes on
to make the receipt of Government
grants by schools hitherto denomina-'
tional contingent on their acquiescence
in such undenominational religious
teaching as is now given in the national
schools. There is to be no religious test
for school teachers, who are to be
appointed by the local authorities. In
schools hitherto UNCONVENTIONAL but
now taken over by the local authorities
on the condition just named, denomina-
tional instruction may be impaired on
two mornings a week, with the consent Of
member Of the regular teaching staff.
Moreover, the attendance of pupils at
such times is not to be compulsory, and
no part Of the expense incurred for such
instruction shall be borne by the rates,
or local taxes, In other words, the de-
nominattonal schools, most Of which, as
we have said, are Anglican, are virtually
put back where they were before the
present Education law became opera
tive. If Anglicans want their children
to receive instruction in the doctrines OF
the Church Of England they will have to
pay for it out Of their own pockets.
Strange as it may seem to Americans,
it is doubtful whether Mr.. BIRBELL's
project, equitable as it looks, will be-
come a law. We cannot ven assert
with certainty that the House of Com
mons will sanction it. If it be true that
at least half of the Governments sup
porters are Anglican, and if their devo-
ton to their religion Is stronger than
their loyalty TO party, they may manage
with the aid of almost all the Unionists to
beat the proposed change in the Educa-
ton law. even though the Ministry
should be able to count on the assistance
of the thirty independent Laborites and
the eighty-one Irish Nationalist. As
Stunning, however, for the sake of argu-
ment, that by one or another the
Ministers will succeed in driving the
Birrell measure through the House OF
Commons, they can hardly expect to
meet, with equal success in the House Of
Lords. The Liberal peers constitute
only an insignificant minority in that
body, and most Of these are Anglioans.
The same thing may be affirmed of the
great Unionist majority, to say nothing
of the Bench of Bishops. The Lords
may throw out the bill on exactly the
same plea upon which they relied when
they rejected Mr.. GL~ADsToNE's second
Home Rule project, They may say that
the Bannerman Government received
from the electors no definite mandate
with reference to education. 1t cannot,
indeed, be denied that the chief spokes-
men Of the present Government and their
principal newspaper organs have de-
clared repeatedly that the recent general
election pivoted upon the question of
free trade versus protection. They can
hardly pretend at this late day that it
really turned on the education issue,
although, no doubt, outside of Birming-
ham, almost all the English Noncon-
formists voted for Liberal candidates.
Under the circumstances we should
expect to see the House of Lords vote
down the Birrell bill and defy Sir H.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES to go to the coun-
try on the specific question of undenomi-
national education. The Premier is well
aware that in a contest thus narrowed
he might find il hard TO win a victory,