Mr. Chamberlain has repeated his very curious offer of a
compromise in the matter of Free Education. In a letter of October 9th, replying to the Dean of Wells—who declares, in a letter to him, that he (Dr. Plumptre) is a convert to that system—he says he is willing to save the Voluntary schools from the crushing competition with free Board schools, by making the former schools also free, and giving them compensation either by an extra capitation-grant, or by a higher payment for results. That will not comfort the advocates of religious teaching much, for the simple reason that they will doubt if Mr. Chamberlain knows what he is talking about. His followers in Liverpool say they will not hear of his plan, nor will most Nonconformists anywhere else. We only wish there were a chance of it. It would amount to an endowment by a State contract of every Voluntary religions school in the country for all time. The devotees of Disestablishment will not vote for that, and Mr. Chamberlain cannot dispense with them. We are not sure either that the offer could be accepted at the price he suggests, which is "some popular representative control of the schools during school-hours." That means, we suppose, right of entry and inspection by any rural Councillor during school-hours. The Catholics, at all events, will not consent to that; and theirs is a vote Mr. Chamberlain will not disregard.
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