TOPICS OF THE DAY.

NATIONAL AND " DENOMINATIONAL " EDUCATION.

THSRE was more in the Edinburgh dinner to Dr. Gunn, noticed among last week's parag phs of news, than a mere compliment to a private individual. It was, perhaps unintentionally on the part of its promoters, a practical assertion of a great public principle ; and though the form and phrase in which that principle was as- serted on the occasion may have taken a colour from social rela- tions peculiar to Scotland, it is one in the defence of which every part of the empire has at this moment an urgent interest.

The somewhat uncouth epithet "denominational education" ap- pears to have been derived from the vocabulary of the English Non- conformists. The combined action of " the Three Denominations," whose representatives have a local habitation in Redcross Street, has been the main bulwark of Nonconformity in England; and to this fact is probably owing the habit that has grown up among English Dissenters of calling the various churches and communions into which English Christianity is split up " denominations." "De- nominational,' as opposed to national education, implies education intended to train up individuals in unquestioning faith in the doc- trines of a particular church or denomination, and implicit sub- mission to its discipline, in contradistinction to an education meant to develop those powers of reasoning and to promote the formation of those habits of morality whiCh make the useful citizen, irre- spective of ecclesiastical views and associations. The incidents which have placed Dr. Gunn and certain Free Church leaders in opposition to each other, as asserters respectively of a national and a denominational scheme of education, have had their origin in the secession of the Free from the Established Church of Scotland. When that event took place, a number of parochial schoolmasters, who adhered to the seceding body, were thrown out of employment. Those individuals were felt to have an equal claim to the support and countenance of the new dis- sentient Church, with the clergymen who had sacrificed incomes and homes on account of their attachment to its principles ; and this, perhaps even more than zeal for the diffusion of education, led in the first instance to the establishment of a number of Free "Church schools.

But it would be doing injustice to the Chalmerses, Guthries, Beggs, A Gunn; and even the Candlishes of the Free Church, to con- ceal that more extended and benevolent views induced them to im- part a systematic character to their educational efforts. The General Assembly of the Free Church appointed an Education Committee to superintend and direct the organization and exten- sion of the Free Church schools. The first educational efforts of the Free Church were made before the arrangements of the Educa- tional Committee of the Privy Council for promoting local efforts to extend general education were fully matured, and could of course have no reference to them.

The terms upon which Government proposed to extend assist- ance to local schools, were brought under the consideration of the Assembly' of the Free Church in 1847. On that occasion, the Assembly patsed resolutions, in which (tate Dr. Candlish) it " stated in tht 'most emphatic way its preference for a national system of education over a denominational one, or one carried on by churches as such." The Free Church accordingly agreed to accept Government assistance to its efforts to promote education, upon Government terms.

In 1850, however, a rally was made by the party in the Free Church who prefer a denominational to a national system of educa- tion. They moved and carried a resolution in their Assembly, declaring, That while this Church should hold herself open to consider favourably any plan for meeting the educational destitution confessedly existing in Scotland, which shall provide due security for the religious character of the education to be given, the As- sembly do not consider that any proposal has been made in Par- liament, or throughout the country, which this Church ought to approve or promote." This resolution is cautiously worded ; for a more explicit declaration might have placed the majority in the Assembly in opposition to the majority of their Church. But its aim is sufficiently obvious; or if any doubt could exist, the

words used by the mover of the resolution, not long before, in the Presbytery of Dundee, would dispel it—" If it were asked,

what religious security would he demand, he would answer, that it was the duty of the State to defend and encourage God's truth ; and that the only way in which they could secure religion as an element in national schools, would be to put them in the hands, or under the effective superintendence of the Churches who hold ,God's truth." By adopting the resolution of Mr. Wilson, as ex- plained by his own words, the Assembly of the Free Church, and of course its Education Committee, evidently passed over from the camp of educational to that of denominational education. Up to this period, Dr. Gunn had been an active, intelligent, and useful member of the Free Church Education Committee. But

he felt that, after the Assembly had resolved to promote denomi- national in preference to national education, he, as an advocate of the latter, could no longer consistently continue to act upon the Committee. His motives and feelings in resigning are thus ex- pressed in a letter ho wrote to Dr. Candlish— K' yield to no man in admiration of the zeal, energy, and talent with which the Free Church Education scheme is administered, and of the en-

Tightened views of education which are developed in its practice. But I am bound to act upon my conscientious convictions ; and as I believe that the scheme now presents, and is actually intended by many of its most active supporters to present, a barrier to the supply of this country's want, you will forgive me if I respectfully request you to withdraw my name from the Committee of the scheme."

So far the Assembly of the Free Church acted as candidly and fairly as Dr. Gunn. If that Assembly prefer the denominational system of education, they have a right to promote it to the ut- most of their power. If Dr. Gunn prefers the national, he has an equally unquestionable right to abstain from cooperating with them. But the step subsequently taken by the Education Com- mittee of the Free Church seems utterly unwarrantable, and un- worthy of any countenance. There are two Inspectors of schools receiving Government as- sistance, for Scotland ; one for the schools of the Established Church, and one for the schools of the Free Church and other Dissenters. Both appointments lately became vacant. Govern- ment appointed Dr. Gunn Inspector of the Free Church and Dis- senting Schools. Dr. Gunn is a man of great and varied acquire- ments' he has attained a high reputation. as a successful teacher ; he has distinguished himself as a judicious and intelligent pro- moter of education ; he is a man of unimpeachable morals, in full communion with and holding office in the Free Church, and enjoy- ing the confidence of its moat distinguished leaders lay and clerical. It ought to be added, that he had been urgently solicited by the Education Committee of the Free Church to act as their Inspector of Schools. The appointment was particularly acceptable to the Dissenters of Scotland, and to a large proportion if not an absolute majority in the Free Church itself. Nevertheless, the Education Committee of the Free Church, to whom it appears Government has unaccountably conceded an absolute right of veto upon such appointments, has objected to Dr. Gunn, and Government has weakly yielded and rescinded his nomination. In this transaction the Education Committee of the Free Church has asserted a dictatorial power, which cannot safely be conceded to any sect, communion, or denomination.- Government offers to contribute to the support of certain classes of schools. In return, Government requires that its Inspectors shall be allowed to exa- mine the schools from time to time,. in order to ascertain that competent teachers are appointed and their duties efficiently dis- charged. These Inspectors are also authorized by Government to inquire into the educational state of their districts and report upon it, and, when invited, to assist the local school managers with their advice and suggestions. The Education Committee of the Free Church have accepted the Government aid ; and having done so, they insist that no man shall be appointed to inspect their schools who is not an avowed partisan of the denominational system. Their alleged want of confidence in Dr. Gunn arises solely from his re- fusal to cooperate actively in promoting a denominational scheme as contradistinguished from a national scheme. They can cast no imputation on his capacity, on his moral and religious character, or his .truthfulness and_ impartiality. They cannot even allege that he has endeavoured to thwart or impede their denominational efforts. Simply because he has averred frankly that he differs from them in opinion so far as to prefer national to 'denominational education, and declined to take an active part in promoting views antagonistic to those which he conscientiously holds, they insist upon his being excluded from an office for which he is singularly qualified both by his personal cha- racter and by the confidence which a great number of the most in- telligent leaders of the Free Church and all other denominations in Scotland repose in him. It is our wish to place the question upon this broad and general ground. But we are not on that account at liberty to pass un- noticed the glaring interference of one clergyman, in particular, to bear down a deserving laic simply for asserting his right of

private judgment. Beth in the Education Committee of the Free Church and in public, Dr. Candlish has distinguished him- self by hostility to Dr. Gunn; and the only charge he can bring against that gentleman is his non-submission to the bull fulmi- nated by the Assembly of. the Free Church against national, un- sectarian education. This is the true priestly spirit, that never pardons lay opposition; and in the encouragement of the growth of such a spirit is the principal danger of denominational educa- tion. In rescinding their appointment of Dr. Gunn, Government have weakly and culpably abandoned the principle of national education and succumbed to this overbearing priestly spirit It is lamentable to see such weakness evinced, in existing cir- cumstances. The prevailing tone of opinion and sentiment in this country requires the admission of the religious element into our arrangements for secular instruction. But a great and growing majority of that portion of the community which takes an active part in promoting education has been brought to see that, split up

as we are into sects, all that can be attained in this respect is to take measures for promoting a general spirit of reverence for re-

ligion and religions institutions among the pupils 'of our sehoole, and for insuring the instruction of each of them in the parti- cular mode of faith in which his parents or guardians wish him to be trained. Government has offered to aid all local efforts to promote general education on the ground of such a compro- mise of sectarian differences. Every day increases the num- ber of applicants for its assistance upon such terms. In Par- liament it can command majorities in support of this scheme, greater than it can upon any other question. The operations of

the Privy Council have already called into existence an efficient and-respectable ageneys They have in their employment (in Eng- land and Scotland) thirteen accomplished and energetic Inspectors, several thousand schoolmasters who have been recognized as de-

serving their support, and some six thousand pupfls to whose edu- cation they contribute. This body is characterized by a large i average amount of talent and zeal in the cause of national educa- tion. With a people ready to be led on the great question of edu- cation, with such a nucleus for an efficient educational' staff, and with a Parliament ready to vote additional supplies as they may be required, nothing but the most unpardonable apathy and moral cowardice on their own cart can prevent. Ministers from ad- vancing national education. And yet, unconscious of the strength of their position, we see them compromising the cause by truckling before the domineering sectarian spirit of a few busy agitators among one sect of the least populous division of the kingdom

The wrong done to the cause of national education by Govern- ment, in submitting to carryinto execution the sentence of excom- munioation pronounced by lDr. Candlish and his coadjutors against Dr. Gunn—as in the days of the Spanish Inquisition the lay au- thorities executed the sentences of the priestly tribunal—is a mat- ter that more immediately concerns Scotland. But this truckling to the "denominational" spirit indicates aweakness against which the English public has at least an equal interest in protesting. For to the predominance of denominational or sectarian ambition is attributable, on the one hand, the opposition which the Government scheme of education has experienced at the hands of the ultra Yoluntories, and on the other, the insidious show of sup- port it has sometimes received from ultra High Churchmen.