The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1906-06-16
England in the Throes of School War
Which Will Not Be Settled Without
Mech Bitterness and Strife.
Growing Dissatisfaction by the Tenants With
the Wyndham Land Act Adds {.
Further Feel to the Flame.

Not so very long ago Conservative
ministry went down to defeat in Eng
land, and the Liberal, Campbell-Ban-
herman ministry assumed greatness.
One of the vital factors in bringing
about the downfall of the Conservative
ministry and the subsequent apexing of
Liberal leaders was the Irish question
and the Irish Parliamentary party.
That ministry has been in power now
only some months and it finds itself
face to face. fighting furiously the
Irish party on some matters of capital
Importance. Whence this strange turn
of affairs? asks the Boston Republic of
the 9Th inst.
More and more, as the Irish party
gains experience, it learns that there
is a deep-seated antagonism to their
central demands and programmes If
anything were needed to emphasize
that point the present agitation on the
school question would furnish it. Eng
land today is in the throes of school
war, which will not be settled until
the en,bers have been famed into one
of the fiercest flames of vehement dis
cussion in all modern parliamentary his
tory. Briefly stated. the issue is this:
England has something like $4,000 VOL
untary schools, with an average at
tendance of almost three million. The
Church of England has, in addition,
1880 schools, the Roman Catholic
Church 1862, and the Wesleyans $50.
There are twelve Jewish schools and
739 general schools The Liberal
government takes the ground that these
schools must be run by the govern
inent, and that while the church prop
erty will not be taken away, rent shall
be paid the government for their use
during school hours. The state at
present aids the schools; the govern
ment maintains that it should manage
them. Neither do they intend to abb
olish religious teaching; but they limit
it to two days week. Under the pro-
vision of the act to be engrossed
there will be two classes of schools;
boarding school. where the Bible is
taught or not, as the pupil chooses, and
secondly, the church schools. The
church schools will vary vastly. Choice
can be made by parents whether chill
dren shall be instructed in the Bible
only; in church teaching with twice q
week, in undenominational teaching
with church teaching twice a week, or
undenominational teaching with more
religious training. The difficulty
comes in the direct antagonism
of the two, religious and secular train
ing. BY the provisions the religious
training can come only twice, unless
to the exclusion of other training.
On this point the Irish members OF
Parliament find themselves the bitter
opponents of the government, which
promised so much to them. What il
presages for the future no one is able
to say; but the fact remains that or
this, the first important discussion
since the Campbell -Bannerman min.
istry came in, the Irish members and
the government have locked horns, ant
find themselves unwilling tent-mates
of the deposed .Balfour and his Tory
party. The situation would be amusing
were not it's very amazement indicative
of a potential petering out of Liberia
support.
Not that the situation is depressing
hopelessly. OF itself, and with the ed.
be, but activities of the Liberals il
other lines, and suspected cupidity o.
the Tory land act bill have brough
the opposition to the outlying parti
sans to head. Dublin dispatche!
prove conclusivey that Sir Henr.
Campbell-Bannerman guessed wisel,
when he said that the land act woult
defraud the tenants and that the land
lords could not help winning big stakes
in the game that was being played I
is becoming every day more and NOR,
evident that the Wyndham measure
was conceived in the artful minds o
the landlords and that the polite littl
Secretary Wyndham went to England
to tell the Tory government what
good people it's Irish subjects We're, a