It was officially announced on Monday that the Govern- ment
had decided to appeal to the House of Lords in regard to the West Riding Judgment, and the propriety of their decision has been freely admitted on both sides. As it was pointed out in the official statement, both the Board of Education and the Local Government Board have been applied to by local authorities in all parts of the country for guidance or advice; and as neither of these Departments has any authority to pronounce on the matters in question, the local administration is in danger of drifting into chaos, while individual members naturally fear surcharge. The need of clearing up the difficulties involved in the judgment of the Court of Appeal is well put in an article in the Law Tournal written before the Government's decision was made public. If the deadlock had been allowed to continue, trouble must have arisen whichever course the education authorities took. "If they make a deduction from the salaries of the teachers, the legality of this step will no doubt be challenged once more. If they resolve to pay for religious instruction, the auditors will probably be asked to make a surcharge in respect of such payment. The whole community is, in fact, interested in obtaining a final decision on the construction of the Act of 1902."
Previous page
